Carousel
by despommes
Summary: Accidents happen. That’s a simple fact of life. Some of those accidents, however, tend to be less than simple. Mpreg, ololol
1. Prologue

**Summary**: Accidents happen. That's a simple fact of life. Some of those accidents, however, tend to be less than simple. Mpreg, ololol

* * *

"The Craine virus is a relatively new strain of a type C virus, and the extent of its damage is usually just a mild respiratory infection."

Lady Marrianne sighed. Her eyes closed in relief, one hand resting on her swollen belly. "So my son will be healthy?"

"That is a matter I wish to talk to you about." Her physician's eyes hardened. "Its effects on pregnant women differ. When I say a virus is relatively new, I mean it's been discovered in the last fifteen years or so. Studies on other women who were infected with the Craine virus during pregnancy show that the fetus was also infected. In girls, the effects are typically multicolored irises, eye infections, and a tendency to be underweight at birth."

"And boys?"

"Boys are an entirely different matter. The virus can cause immune system defects, permanently affect weight gain, limit physical stamina, and cause sterility."

Marrianne's heart trembled. Her son could be sterile. He wouldn't be able to bear and heir to the throne. He wouldn't stand a chance against his older siblings in the war of winning Charles's favor.

"There has to be something to prevent all this," she murmured.

"I can give you a course of steroids that can counteract the effects on the child's immune system."

"What about the sterility?"

The doctor's brow deepened, his lips tightening over teeth. Marrianne's eyes were pleading with him. He knew as well as she did that a sterile heir of Britannia would only be a burden to the empire.

"There is one treatment we've developed. It's due to be launched to medical companies in a matter of weeks."

Lady Marrianne's hopes rose. "Tell me."

"It's an artificial hormone, created by a doctor in Russia who has been studying the Craine virus. It's supposed to give a male fetus an alternate method of bearing children. It's been experimentally given to native civilians of Area Five, and the results appear to be desirable."

"How does it work on the child?"

"The hormone creates a makeshift uterus and one ovary, which for the most part remain inactive during the child's early life. The child will never have a menstrual cycle, but will begin to ovulate during the early teens. This process will not interfere with normal puberty."

"What about conception?"

"When the subject becomes aroused, an internal channel in the rectum becomes active and opens to collect semen. Fertilization can be achieved through artificial insemination or intercourse, so the child's sexuality will never have to be compromised. The sperm cells will be carried to the uterus to fertilize an egg cell, and a zygote will begin to mature. The pregnancy will continue as most normal pregnancies do. The internal insemination channel will act as a vaginal passage from then on and as the birth canal when it is time for the child to be born."

Marrianne wrung her hands atop her stomach. The way it sounded, her son's condition would be undetectable unless someone was told about it. And it would soon become available to other mothers infected with the Craine virus.

"You're sure this treatment is safe?"

"It has been tested over the last seventeen years. The hormone has been altered and perfected for public use."

"I see."

Her doctor placed a hand on her shoulder. "There is no guarantee your son will be sterile. He still has a chance of being born a perfectly healthy baby boy."

"But there is also a chance he could have every single one of those defects, isn't there?"

He sighed, nodding gravely. "There is."

"Then I'll have the steroids and the hormone. I'm not going to take any risks with his health." She looked up at him.

"At four months, you'll have to come in to the hospital every week for hormone treatments and an exam. I can give you the steroids in a pill you are to take with your prenatal vitamins. You must take them all."

"All right."

"I'll schedule an appointment for next week." He packed up his equipment and began to open the door to Lady Marrianne's personal rooms.

"Doctor."

He turned and saw her holding the swell of her stomach, a smile on her face.

"Thank you."

* * *

Two bodies crashed into the room, attached at the mouth and stumbling against each other. One of them reached back and slammed the door shut, careful to lock it, while the other moaned in displeasure at the lack of concentration by the other party. He snaked his fingers up the nape of a strong neck and grabbed a fistful of curly hair, biting at the lips occupying his.

"Good lord, Lelouch," the bitten one said. "If you get this worked up over a pair of gym shorts, I'll sleep in them."

"Jesus fuck, Suzaku." Lelouch began to destroy the buttons to his uniform, legs trembling at the skin that was revealed to him. "Shut _up_ for once."

Suzaku grabbed Lelouch by the back of his thighs and hauled those skinny legs around his waist. He staggered towards the edge of the bed and slammed his partner on the mattress, pinning him there. Lelouch's chest, flush against his, fluttered as his breathing hitched. He turned his head to the side and he bit his bottom lip when Suzaku started to run his tongue all over his throat and collarbone. Calloused hands started to make quick work of the uniform jacket.

It wasn't long before they were both completely stripped, save for Lelouch's white dress shirt, which hung unbuttoned and disheveled around his shoulders. Suzaku deliberately left that on. He liked seeing Lelouch so messy and all over the place. There were tiny little purple hickeys blooming all over his pale throat. Suzaku ceased his oral abuse to Lelouch's stomach to reach up and tap his lips with two fingers.

"Wait!"

Suzaku gave him a puzzled look. Lelouch rolled over and opened the drawer of his nightstand, rifling through it. He drew from it a latex condom, rolled back over to face Suzaku, and, looking straight into his eyes, ripped it open with his teeth.

"You have no idea how hot that is," Suzaku said breathily. A shudder raced through him as he took the opened packet from Lelouch. Back to the business at hand, he once again pressed his fingers to Lelouch's mouth. His digits were welcomed readily. Lelouch drew them in with his tongue, licking them thoroughly before closing his lips around them. Suzaku let out a shaky sigh as his fingers were lathed and nursed. After he felt they were appropriately soaked, he drew them away and put them to better use.

"A-ah!" Lelouch's toes curled around his hips as he slowly slipped one finger inside of him, placing lingering kisses to his abdomen. When a second finger was added into the equation his back lifted from the mattress a tiny bit, and by the third he was thrusting down against Suzaku's hand.

Sweat rolled down his forehead and into his hair, his mouth hanging open to occasionally let soft sounds of satisfaction past his lips. "Suzaku, hurry up!" he whined. Suzaku removed his fingers and quickly rolled the condom over himself. Eagerly, he bent over Lelouch, placed his lips to his forehead and slowly pushed forward.

He barely heard Lelouch gasp into his neck. He was so _hot_ and _tight_; Suzaku thought he was going to lose all the self-control he had and just nail Lelouch into the very sheets he slept in. He held himself back, though, because he knew that was how Lelouch liked it. Slow and deep, like a high tide. Once Suzaku could feel Lelouch's breathing even out against his skin and his spine was once again touching the sheets, he moved. Lelouch let out a moan, hands grappling around his lover's neck. Suzaku thrust back into him and the moan turned into a sharp keen as the body underneath him arched up into his chest. That was his signal to keep going.

Suzaku made sure every thrust went as deep as it possibly could, dragging out the friction in every moment. Lelouch clung to him and breathed in short, sharp pants. He loved making love to Lelouch like this; touching him in just the right places, thrusting at just the right tempo, hitting his prostate just the right way. When Lelouch moaned his name, he knew everything he was doing was perfect.

Suzaku took Lelouch's penis in his hand, earning him a startled cry and desperate buck of the hips. He started to stroke him in time with his own thrusts. Lelouch began to move against him. Suzaku knew he was close. He could feel him swell in his hands and his walls tremor around him. He gave him a few deeper, powerful thrusts and Lelouch sighed. His hips gently moved as he came into Suzaku's hand, eyes closed and mouth open in absolute bliss.

Suzaku leaned down to kiss him. Lelouch's hands cupped his face as he continued to move inside him. His breaking point was reached and he buried himself into Lelouch one last time. Suzaku gave one guttural moan against his mouth and spilled himself, hips jerking shallowly into that tight heat. When he was completely spent, he sank to his elbows and rested his chin on Lelouch's chest.

"Suzaku."

He managed to lift his head up and look into Lelouch's eyes. He was smiling. Suzaku smiled back and nuzzled his cheek into Lelouch's skin.

"I love you so much," he murmured against his sternum. He left a kiss there and started to lift himself off of the small body underneath him.

Lelouch groaned softly as Suzaku separated them and stood to clean himself up. He rolled on his side, a dreamy, lovesick grin on his face. He was absolutely glowing, filled to the brim with joy. He loved Suzaku so much and he was so happy to have him back after seven long, lonely years. Lelouch looked at his lover across the room, naked and sweaty, and it was all thanks to him. He giggled into his hand and looked up towards the ceiling. There was absolutely nothing to ruin these moments.

"Oh god." Suzaku's voice met his ears through his giddy daze. "Lelouch?"

"What is it?" he said, sitting up and pulling his legs over the edge of the bed. Suzaku was looking at him like he'd just seen a ghost. He held up the soiled condom, and at first Lelouch just gave him a funny look, until he saw what was wrong

There was a giant, gaping hole in it.

* * *

Hi everyone! I hope you all enjoyed this first chapter, because I certainly enjoyed writing it. I have high hopes for this story. Please give me a few reviews!


	2. The Big Bang

**Summary**: Accidents happen. That's a simple fact of life. Some of those accidents, however, tend to be less than simple. Mpreg, ololol

* * *

"They were brand new!" Lelouch opened the drawer next to his bed and pulled out the box of condoms he had bought only four days prior. Picking up the wrapper of the broken one, he held it up to an unopened condom from the box, his heart sinking. He let out a helpless sound. They were completely different brands. The one he had blindly grabbed was from a box he had bought a very long time ago, and had expired a week ago.

"What is it?" Suzaku walked back to the bed, buttoning up his pants.

"That one was old. Really old." Lelouch's stomach felt amazingly heavy. Like it was made of lead. "And I haven't been taking my pill."

Suzaku's brows knitted together. "Why weren't you taking the pill? I thought you said you got a new prescription a few weeks ago!"

"I had to take antibiotics for that stomach virus I had! The doctor told me they would clash!"

"So you didn't tell me you quit taking your birth control but you let me have sex with you anyway?"

"How the fuck was I supposed to know the condom would break? Do _not_ try to blame this on me, Kururugi Suzaku!" Lelouch was breathing heavily, eyes wide open and boring into Suzaku. He was starting to tear up.

"Lelouch." Suzaku put his hands on his shoulders. "I'm sorry," he said, pulling him into a hug. "I didn't mean to yell at you. You're right, it's not your fault." Lelouch wasn't looking at him. His head was bowed and he was staring at his hands resting in his lap. He felt Suzaku's hand reach up to touch his cheek, but he shrugged it off. "Hey." Suzaku ducked into his line of vision. "There's a chance you didn't get pregnant, isn't there? I heard that women don't always get pregnant when they have unprotected sex. It might be the same for you."

Lelouch looked at him miserably. His lips were tight and his eyes were red and puffy. Suzaku sighed sadly. "Lelouch, I—"

"You should go."

Suzaku looked shocked. His mouth was open slightly and there was hurt in his eyes. Lelouch continued to gaze at him sadly. Tears started to fall down his face. Suzaku realized what he meant. Lelouch was scared and confused, and he wanted some time to think. Alone. He didn't want Suzaku to see him like this, and he needed to take in all that had happened.

"Okay." Suzaku nodded. He leant forward and kissed Lelouch's lips briefly before standing up from the bed. He pulled his white shirt back on, throwing his uniform jacket over his shoulder and picking up his book bag. "Call me if you want to talk. I'll have my phone."

"Okay."

Suzaku gave him one last worried look before he opened the door, and when he was gone Lelouch buried his face in his hands. How could he be so careless? How could he _not have seen_ that he had picked out the wrong condom and how could he forget to mention to Suzaku that he was off his pill? He was so stupid, and now he could be pregnant because of it. Buttoning up his shirt, he stood to put on a pair of sweatpants and collapsed back down on his bed.

The door opened and CC entered, gnawing on a candy bar. "What was all the yelling about?" she asked, sitting down on the side of the bed. "Having little lover's spat?"

Lelouch glanced up at her and wrapped his arms around himself. She looked at him expectantly, biting off a piece of her candy. "I might be pregnant."

She stopped chewing and removed the chocolate from her mouth. He looked away. "That's," she started, feeling at a loss for words. "That's… shocking."

"Yeah," he said scathingly, "It's very shocking. I might have to drop out of school, give up the rebellion, and leave Nunnally here to finish her education so that I can move out to play housewife and mother for the rest of my life, and you think it's _shocking_?"

"Excuse me," she said coolly. "You took me by surprise. I don't quite know what to say to you, Lelouch."

"Then don't say anything, witch!" He turned away from her and curled up against his pillows. CC gazed at him forlornly, wishing she could comfort him. His shoulders began to quake and she could hear him trying to stifle his sobs as he cried into the pillow. Hesitantly, she placed a hand on his arm and moved to hold him.

"Have you talked to him about it?"

"No," he sniffed. "Aside from the yelling, we didn't really talk about anything."

"You need to." She began to rub small circles into his back. "If you are indeed pregnant, it's his baby and he should take part in all the decision making. He's probably just as scared as you are."

Lelouch stifled his sobs for the time being. Sitting up, he grabbed his cell phone and chose Suzaku's contact, bringing the phone to his ear as it started to ring. CC took his bathrobe from his closet and left the room to take a shower. Lelouch made a mental note to thank her later.

Suzaku picked up after the first ring. "Lelouch?" he said, as if he had been waiting for him to call.

"Hey." His voice trembled.

"Are you all right?"

"No." Lelouch sniffed and wiped at his eyes. "I'm not all right."

"I know. I'm sorry."

"We need to talk." Suzaku was quiet on the other end. "We have to figure out what to do about this."

"Okay."

"I want to take a pregnancy test as soon as possible. As soon as anything can be determined."

"How long will that be?"

"I don't know. Maybe a week or so. I'll check."

"All right." Suzaku sighed. "What if it's positive?"

"I don't know," he murmured.

"Do you want to terminate it? I can pay for it if you need me too."

"God, Suzaku, I don't know!" He pulled at his hair, feeling his throat tighten at the thought.

"Lelouch, if you want to keep the baby, I'll support you one hundred per cent. I'll make sure you're comfortable, I'll pay for a doctor, I'll be there for you the whole time."

"I really don't want to think about it right now, Suzaku. It's too much to take in." He took a deep breath. "I need some time."

"Okay. I'm sorry."

Lelouch heard the front door open, followed by Nunnally's voice talking to Sayoko about something. "Listen, Nunnally's home. I'll see you tomorrow."

"All right."

He paused. "Suzaku, I love you."

"I love you too, Lelouch. See you at school."

Lelouch hung up and stood to went to greet his sister. "Lelouch, you're home early!" she observed delightedly as he bent down to hug her. "I thought there was a student council meeting today."

"I wasn't feeling too well, so Suzaku brought me home. I guess I'm still just a little weak from that stomach flu."

"Poor Lelouch," she said worriedly. "Are you feeling better?"

"Yes, lots." He faked a smile and placed his hand over hers.

"Lelouch, you sound upset." She frowned. "Are you sure you're feeling okay?"

"It must be that virus. I still have a few more pills left to take." He laughed a little. "Don't worry, Nunnally, I'll be feeling good as new again soon."

His answer seemed to satisfy her. She smiled and began to chatter on about her day as they entered the dining room. Lelouch put on a happy face, but that couldn't be further from the truth. Inside, he wanted to run into his room and spend the rest of the night alone attempting to sleep through his anxieties. But he couldn't disappoint Nunnally, and he knew he hadn't been home very often in the past few weeks. So he ate with her, telling her about something silly that Rivalz had done that day to get Millay's attention or about all the homework he had been given for the days he was out sick. She laughed and smiled with him, but through the whole evening, Lelouch felt nothing like laughing.

* * *

There's chapter two! I hoped you all liked it. I was eager to write it and get this story headed in the direction I wanted. I hope you leave me wonderful reviews!


	3. A Change of Heart

Thank you for all the reviews!

Summary: Accidents happen. That's a simple fact of life. Some of those accidents, however, tend to be less than simple. Mpreg, ololol

* * *

On Lelouch's couch, Suzaku sat with his arms crossed across his chest. For the past two weeks, Lelouch had been reluctant to mention their little predicament and tried to act like nothing was wrong at school. He seemed perfectly fine to all of their friends. But Suzaku had caught him in the bathrooms more than once, locked away in a stall and on the verge of a panic attack. His heart was breaking for Lelouch. He felt so guilty for what had happened.

Thinking it had been long enough, he stood up and went to the bathroom where Lelouch was bent over the countertop, staring at four different pregnancy tests. None of them had results yet, and Suzaku could see that Lelouch's nerves were about to get the better of him. He was pale and his hands were restless. He kept drumming his fingertips on the marble.

"Lelouch, why don't you come sit with me and wait a little while?" he asked, touching his arm. Lelouch shrugged him off.

"They're almost done. Just give me a minute."

Suzaku sighed. He leaned his back on the wall and stared at the ceiling, suddenly feeling useless and in the way. Silently, he waited for the tests to determine their fate.

It wasn't long before one of them ticked its completion and Lelouch crouched over it to see his results. Soon after, the rest of them confirmed that they were done. His head darted from each test, eyes flickering wildly and heart beating like a drum.

"They're all positive," he whispered. Suzaku moved over to see if it was true, and to his horror, each test either revealed a blue strip or a plus sign. His throat tightened. "Suzaku, they're all positive!" Lelouch looked up at him. His face was the image of panic. "I'm fucking pregnant!"

He threw the test in his hand to the tiled floor. His hands wove themselves into his hair and he started to cry. "Lelouch, calm down," Suzaku said softly, pulling him into a tight hug.

"How am I supposed to calm down?" he sniffed. "This could ruin my life. _Our_ lives. I can't take care of a child, Suzaku, and you can't either! What are we going to do?"

"We'll figure something out, Lu." He kissed his temple. "I promise. You're going to be okay." Lelouch sighed miserably and put his arms around Suzaku's neck. "Last night we talked about terminating. Is that what you want to do?"

"I… I think so."

"Okay." Suzaku nodded. "Then that's what we'll do."

"I want to do it this week."

"I have to work every day this week, Lelouch." Suzaku held him closer. "Are you sure you'll be okay by yourself?"

"I can get Rivalz to take me," he told him. "He's a Craine virus baby, like me. He'll understand."

"All right." He pulled back from their embrace, brushing the hair out of Lelouch's wet eyes. "Do you want me to leave?"

"No!" Lelouch grabbed his arm. "No, I… I want you to stay here tonight. If you can." His expression was pleading with him. "Please."

There was no way Suzaku could deny him now. He pulled Lelouch back to him and nodded. "Okay. I'll stay." Effortlessly, he lifted Lelouch into his arms and carried him to his room to put him in bed. It was late, and he desperately needed sleep. Once he was tucked underneath the quilt, Suzaku slid in beside him and held him close. He tried to be there for Lelouch and tell him everything was going to be all right, but deep down he was just as insecure and just as scared.

* * *

"So you're really serious about this?"

Lelouch nodded. Rivalz took off his helmet and threw it into the glove compartment of the sidecar, along with Lelouch's. The clinic loomed in front of them, a stark white building against the grey concrete that surrounded it. The automatic doors slid open for them, and Lelouch went to the front desk while Rivalz sat in the waiting room area.

"Name please," the receptionist said, glancing up at him.

"Lamperouge." He watched as she typed his name into the database to search for his appointment. When she found it, the printer behind her roared to life and produced a paper.

"Please read this and sign your name at the bottom."

He read the name of the document. _Proof of Consent to Termination Procedure_. He swallowed thickly and skimmed over the contents of the abortion form. Taking the pen, Lelouch signed on the line and handed the woman the paper. "Have a seat. The doctor will call you when he's ready."

Rivalz gave him a worried look when he sat down beside him. Lelouch simply stared at the floor. He was nervous. This wasn't exactly going to be a pleasant procedure. He was aware that he would be in some discomfort for a few days afterwards and the termination itself would probably be awful. He didn't have a high tolerance for pain.

There were a few other patients with them in the waiting room. It wasn't solely an abortion clinic. The doctor he was seeing was an OBGYN and treated pregnant women as well as new mothers and their babies. One woman was sitting on the other end of the room, hands on her pregnant stomach like she was carrying a delicate treasure. There was a calm, serene expression on her face as she gazed out the window. She was happy. Lelouch sighed. She probably had a good job, a husband to provide for her and the child, and a comfortable home. And she probably was not a junior in high school.

He looked away, but his eyes refused to let go of the expression on the woman's face. Across the room, another woman sat with a small baby-carrier at her feet and a tiny child in her arms. The baby couldn't have been more than a month old, but the sheer joy on its mother's face made Lelouch terrible uncomfortable. She gently rocked the child up and down, smiling to it and cooing whenever it did something that Lelouch couldn't see. His heart started to break.

There was a child inside him. A baby, just like the one wrapped up in the woman's loving arms or and the belly of the girl by the window. He could have what they had, someone to love and fuss over that he and Suzaku could share together. A chance to be happy. But he was going to snuff out the little life within him, so he could continue his life that had been riddled with nothing but anger and revenge. He had decided he didn't want the chance that had been presented to him.

Without a look at Rivalz, Lelouch stood up and made for the door in a brisk walk. He didn't say anything at all, and he tried not to think. He was already putting his helmet on and slipping into the sidecar when Rivalz caught up to him.

"What are you doing?" he asked, a puzzled look written on his face. "I thought you had an appointment."

"I changed my mind." Lelouch looked at him sternly, holding out his helmet to him. Rivals just stared at him. "Can we please just go back?"

"All right then."

* * *

"Suzaku, your phone is ringing."

"Oh!" Suzaku was focused so intently on his flight simulator he didn't even hear Lelouch's ring tone. "Can I take that?" he asked Lloyd, inwardly cringing at the look he was given. "It's really important."

"Fine then," the professor said exasperatedly. "Hurry up, Suzaku. I can't do anything to the software yet until you finish that simulator."

"Yes sir." He thanked Cecile for handing him his phone and went to Lloyd's small office to take his call. Lelouch must have just been out from the clinic. He had asked him to call to tell him how he was feeling. "Hello?"

"I couldn't do it!"

Suzaku couldn't quite understand him the first time. It sounded like he was crying and hyperventilating at the same time. "What?"

"I went in and I signed for it but I left before they called for me." There was a sniff and a sob. "I can't do it, Suzaku. I'm sorry."

"You're not having the procedure?"

"No."

His eyes widened like saucers. Lelouch was still pregnant. He wasn't getting the abortion and he was going to remain pregnant. Suzaku felt like he was going to be sick. His heart was trying to beat out of his chest, and for a moment he felt like he was going to faint.

"Have you thought about this, Lelouch?"

"I've thought about it enough to know that I couldn't go through with it."

Suzaku took a deep, shaky breath. "What are you going to do, then?" he asked.

"I guess I'm going to have the baby." A new, fresh sob escaped. "If you don't want it, you don't have to worry. Ashford will support me until I graduate. You don't have to help me."

"Don't say that, Lelouch," he said firmly. "We're both responsible for this. I'm not just going to leave you with a baby while we're still in school. It's my baby too."

Lelouch was silent, save for the hiccups and sniffles. Suzaku placed a hand over his eyes and turned his head to the ceiling.

"I'll come by when I leave from work. We'll talk about it more then."

"Okay. Bye."

He hung up and went back to the hangar, barely listening as Lloyd scolded him for taking so long. That was the least of his worries. He was in so much shit.

* * *

Well! Here you are, please feed me reviews and tell me what you think.


	4. The Good Doctor

This story is getting quite popular! I really don't know why, I personally don't think my work is that good. But I do appreciate all of your reviews. They make my day and I'm glad you guys like everything so much. Thanks!

**Summary:** Accidents happen. That's a simple fact of life. Some of those accidents, however, tend to be less than simple. Mpreg, ololol

* * *

"So," Suzaku said, taking Lelouch's hand in his. "We need a plan."

"A plan?"

"Yeah." Lelouch cocked his head. "You'll need a doctor."

"I know that."

"And we should probably find one soon."

"Okay." Lelouch sighed. "You're not angry with me, are you?"

"No." Suzaku shook his head vigorously, pulling Lelouch close to him. "Oh god, Lelouch, no. I'm not angry with you." He could feel his head rest on his shoulder. "We'll be fine. We can still go to school, even with a baby. And the military pays me a decent amount of money. After the baby gets here, they'll give me an extra check every month for family benefits."

"I'll have to tell Nunnally." Lelouch turned pale at the thought. He couldn't bear to have Nunnally disappointed in him.

"She'll accept it," Suzaku told him. "She loves you, Lelouch. You can't disappoint her. If anything, I think she'll be excited."

"Really?"

"Of course." Suzaku smiled at him. "She loves babies."

Hesitantly, Lelouch gave him a tiny smile in return. For a while, he just sat in a calm silence, nestled safely against Suzaku. It was the most peace he'd had in three weeks. He'd been so stressed and worried about whether or not he was pregnant. There were dark circles under his eyes and he felt shaky all the time. It was nice to have Suzaku.

"So…" Suzaku breathed. "We're really going to do this?"

"Yeah. We are."

"We're going to have a baby." Suzaku took a deep breath and leaned back on the pillows, taking Lelouch down with him. "What do you think it'll look like?"

"I don't know." Lelouch nuzzled his face into Suzaku's chest. "But I hope it doesn't look like me."

"What makes you say that? You're very nice to look at."

"I'd rather it looked like you."

"Well, _I_ hope the baby looks like you." His fingers started to sift through Lelouch's fine black hair. "It'll be one lucky child with your genes."

"Hm." Lelouch looked so tired. His eyes were closed and his breath was even against Suzaku's skin, but he looked anything other than relaxed. He still seemed upset about what was to come, but he supposed he would need some time to get used to the idea.

Suzaku, on the other hand, was surprised to find that he was unbearably excited.

* * *

"Hey."

Lelouch looked up from his chemistry notes. Rivalz was standing in front of him, book bag slung over his shoulder. They had study hall together, but Lelouch had been skipping that period for the last week to read his novel on the roof. He had since finished his book and decided to stay and study for the chemistry test they had in a couple of days.

"Hi." He watched Rivalz sit down. His friend looked at him concernedly, eyes quizzical.

"Do you want to talk about what happened yesterday?"

"Not particularly, no."

He turned his attention back to his notes, shuffling through them to find the section he was looking for. Rivalz reached across his desk and snatched the notes out of his hands. Lelouch looked up at him, eyes shining with irritation. "Give me back my notes."

"Neglecting to tell your friends about it isn't going to make it go away, Lelouch."

"Rivalz, shut up!" He looked around the room, making sure no one had heard their conversation. Everyone else was less interested in the two of them and more interested in talking about a concert more than half the school attended the night before.

"Tell me what's going on." Rivalz's voice was stern and full of worry for him. Lelouch sighed exasperatedly. He wasn't going to leave him alone until he said something.

"Fine." Dropping his voice, he motioned for Rivalz lean in closer. "A couple of weeks ago, Suzaku and I were fooling around. The condom broke in the middle of it and we didn't find out until it was too late. I waited a while and took a pregnancy test. It was positive. I went to get an abortion, which you took me to have, but I chickened out."

"I'd figured that much." Rivalz stared at him. "So you're going to _keep_ it?"

"It looks like I am," he said absentmindedly, not wanting to talk about it anymore. He made a grab at his notes, but Rivalz tore them out of his reach at the last second.

"Lelouch!" he said. "How can you be so nonchalant about this? You're pregnant! You're going to have a _kid_!"

"I know that, Rivalz!" He glared at him. "Trust me, _I know_! It's all I've been able to think about for the past two weeks! I haven't been able to sleep or eat properly since I found out, I completely grasp the situation and I don't need you to remind me how worried I should be about this whole thing!"

Rivalz was quiet. After a few seconds, he handed Lelouch's notes to him and crossed his arms on top of the table. Lelouch tried to begin studying again, but at this point he was too strung out to concentrate. He let out a sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose, attempting to ward off an oncoming headache.

"So what are you going to do? Does Suzaku know?"

"Yes." He rested his face in his hand. "I'm going to a doctor this weekend. See how the baby's doing."

"Okay."

"You're the only one that knows." Lelouch had given up on studying and had started on his geography homework. "I'd appreciate if you didn't say anything to anyone else."

"I wouldn't." Rivalz put a sympathetic hand on his shoulder. "Are you going to be okay?" he asked. He was genuinely concerned, and for that Lelouch was grateful.

"We'll see."

* * *

"You will eventually have to tell Nunnally. You know that, right?"

"Yes. I know."

Lelouch leaned back on the examination chair/table he was sitting on. Suzaku had taken him to see a doctor they were considering for prenatal care. His stomach was in knots; doctors' offices made him very uncomfortable. He could remember spending a lot of time in them when he was younger. Despite the vitamins and steroids his mother had taken when she was pregnant with him, the Craine virus had still put a dent in his immune system. He eventually outgrew it with the help of various vaccines and supplements, but every time he stepped into a doctor's office all he could think about were the needles and pills he'd seen as a child. Lelouch still didn't like needles.

"Relax," Suzaku told him. He comfortingly touched his arm. "She's not going to cut you open or anything like that. It'll be okay."

"You would be nervous too if you were in my position."

He smiled. "Yes. I suppose I would."

Dr. Autumns was one of only five independent practice OBGYNs in the Tokyo Settlement who was trained and certified to treat patients known as "Craine babies." Each hospital was required to have at least one, but Lelouch wanted to avoid hospitals until it was absolutely necessary. He felt safer being treated in a small clinic closer to the academy. Dr. Autumns was also one of the best OBGYNS in the area. He felt he would be in safe hands.

He was snapped out of his thoughts by the turning of the door handle. A small woman stepped inside with a touchscreen clipboard. She had short, dark hair and looked relatively young. There was a small smile on her face as she looked at him. "Mr. Lamperouge, I presume?"

"Yes."

"I'm Dr. Autumns." She shook his hand and looked at his chart. Lelouch had filled out a form in the waiting room, and he suspected that was what she was going over now. "And you must be Kururugi Suzaku."

"Oh, yes ma'am." Suzaku nodded to her politely and she gave him a little smile as well.

"It says here on your chart that you suspect you're about three weeks along." She wrote something with the clipboard's stylus. "At so early in the gestation period, there's little I can tell with an ultrasound or a pelvic exam. However, I like to take a blood sample on the first visit to check your hormone levels and make sure everything's normal."

Lelouch paled a little bit. "A-all right." There would be no getting around blood work though. It was important for not only his health, but the baby's as well.

"Before I bring the nurse in, I'd like to talk to you about the risks we've seen in previous Craine pregnancies."

Suzaku's brow furrowed. He reached for Lelouch's hand. "Risks?"

"Yes." Dr. Autumns tucked her clipboard under her arm. "It is extremely important that you maintain a healthy diet. You would be surprised how much good eating habits can help fetal development and the way you feel. I wouldn't encourage physical activity though."

"Physical activity?" Lelouch's eyebrows arched delicately. "As in, a gym class?"

"Yes. I would recommend you be removed from any physical education classes _immediately_." Her voice was stern. "Your body is not as well suited to carry a child as a woman's would be. This pregnancy will be very taxing on your organs and muscles, and the less physical stress you subject yourself to the better. Too much strain can trigger an early labor. More than one third of babies of Craine pregnancies are born prematurely, and nearly eighteen per cent of mothers miscarry."

"Mothers?" Lelouch asked.

"Yes, mothers." She grinned at him. "You may be a strapping young lad, Mr. Lamperouge, but you are still your child's mother."

"Oh." It made sense.

"You two look like good kids," Dr. Autumns said. "Since you're both under eighteen years old, I'm obligated to give you places you can look to for financial support and parenting classes. Of course, if you have any questions at all, you can always call my office or make an appointment with me. I'd like to see Mr. Lamperouge again in about a week to discuss the blood work we get today. I'd also like to see what I can find with a pelvic exam as well."

"We can both come next weekend."

"Excellent." She pulled her clipboard back out and wrote something, presumably his next appointment. "Next Saturday, 2:00?"

"That's fine."

"Wonderful." She smiled brightly and touched the door. "Nurse Coldwell will be in to take your blood in a bit." With that, she left them to fetch the nurse. Lelouch sighed slowly, trying to settle his nerves.

"Are you all right?"

"I don't like needles," he said softly. "I never have."

"It'll be okay. Just squeeze my hand." Suzaku intertwined his fingers with Lelouch's and brought his hand to his lips. He gently kissed his knuckles. "I love you."

"I love you too," Lelouch murmured in reply.

It wasn't long before a tall nurse opened the door and shyly stepped inside. "Hi, I'm nurse Coldwell," she said. In her hand was a tray that held various needles and tourniquets of different sizes. "I'll just get a couple tubes of blood and then you can go."

Lelouch nodded quickly and shakily rolled up his sleeve. He tried to relax, which wasn't hard to do with Suzaku's warm hand engulfing his.

* * *

Well, there you are. I hope you enjoyed it! That last bit almost killed me. I find it rather hard to write for doctors and nurses. I don't know why, I just can't seem to give them a personality. Oh well! Maybe I just need some practice. Please, tell me what you think of this chapter


	5. The Proud Auntie

Hi everyone! Sorry for the wait, I've been busy like you wouldn't believe! Please try not to be too angry with me and enjoy this.

**Summary:** Accidents happen. That's a simple fact of life. Some of those accidents, however, tend to be less than simple. Mpreg, ololol.

* * *

Lelouch had to tell Millay's grandfather. The man had a right to know, considering he was paying for all of his and Nunnally's medical expenses. The Monday following his appointment with Dr. Autumns, he arranged a meeting with the superintendent and dean of Ashford Academy to explain the situation and present to him the note his doctor had written, requesting he be removed from gym.

Professor Ruben K. Ashford was an older, handsome man with a kind personality. He was tall and stately, with grey hair and a matching, closely cut beard that had both been, in his younger years, a sandy blond much like his granddaughter's. He also had eyes quite like hers; blue and full of good intentions. He cared for every student on the Ashford campus, but Nunnally and Lelouch had always held a special place in his large heart. He had gone to great lengths to keep them hidden from the world and out of their siblings' reach. Lelouch held a deep respect for him.

When his knuckles rapped on the broad oak door to his office, a cheery voice told him to come in. He opened the door and was greeted with a smile from Ruben Ashford, who was seated behind his desk and bent over some papers. "Ah, Lelouch." He leaned back in his chair and removed his glasses. "How good it is to see you. Please, sit down, my boy."

He sat in one of the chairs opposite Professor Ashford's. The office was spacious and airy, with two large windows on either side of the desk. Morning sunshine fell through the glass and bathed the room in a buttery glow, setting the maroon carpet and wood-paneled walls alight. Lelouch felt very timid in regards to the reason he was there.

"Tell me, how is your sister?"

"Oh, Nunnally's fine." He let the strap of his book-bag fall from his shoulder and set it next to his feet. "She's been feeling very well."

"Splendid news." His eyes sparkled at Lelouch. "Forgive me, but I don't believe my secretary told me the reason for our appointment today."

"I've come to request a change in my schedule, on the advice of my doctor."

Professor Ashford chuckled heartily at that. "Lelouch, you've tried to worm your way out of P.E. classes before but I'd never thought you'd be clever enough to get a doctor to sign for it." Lelouch was silent as he handed over the letter Dr. Autumns had written for him. The man put his glasses back on.

"I assure you, professor, this time there's a legitimate reason behind my request."

As he read the letter, Ruben's smile gradually started to fade. Lelouch's eyes followed his as he scanned the page. When they reached the bottom, he looked back to Lelouch with a grave expression on his face. "This," he said, removing his bifocals. "This is very serious indeed." His gaze weighed on Lelouch, filling him with a sense of guilt. Like a child who'd been caught doing something naughty. "Who is the father?"

There was a small moment of silence as Lelouch gathered the courage to speak. "Suzaku Kururugi."

"And does he know about this?"

"He does." He swallowed. His skin was starting to feel clammy.

"Lelouch." Professor Ashford folded his hands over each other pensively and placed them on his desk. "You are a very responsible young man. Though you don't attend nearly half of your classes, you manage to come up with outstanding grades. You take excellent care of your sister, who absolutely adores you, and will go to any lengths to make sure she is happy. You have many friends in this school and are a valued member on the student council. Suzaku is a very hard-working young man. He is polite, modest, and kind boy, despite all the negative interaction with many other students. He is not as intellectually gifted as you are, but still does his best to complete his schoolwork correctly and on time. I think a lot of both of you, and am privileged to have you both here in my school."

Lelouch nodded his head. "Thank you, sir."

"However." He sighed. "Parenthood is a colossal and lifelong responsibility. A responsibility too great for most high school students to handle. I believe you and Suzaku both have bright futures ahead of you and I'm not quite sure how a child would affect that. I want you to be aware that you do not have to keep this child if you do not want to. There are plenty of wonderful people looking for a child to adopt."

"I know, Professor." Lelouch crossed his right leg over his left. "I've considered my other options. I even went to have an abortion, but I couldn't go through with it. And with all due respect, I would like to remind you that Suzaku and I are not to be grouped with most high school students." His voice was sharp. "I've had so much taken from me. My mother. My childhood. My freedom. There were times I thought Nunnally would be taken from me as well. This baby is _mine_. It will have _my_ DNA, _my_ genes. My flesh and blood. And I'll be damned if anyone is going to take _this_ away from me."

Ruben Ashford had listened to every word Lelouch had said. When he finished, he gazed coolly at him from across the desk. The old man sighed. Without a word, he stood and walked in front of his desk, stopping in front of Lelouch.

"I have faith that you will be fine, Lelouch. Whatever decision you make."

"Thank you, sir."

"You wish to remain in school?"

"Yes. As long as I can. That won't be a problem, will it?"

"No." He went back to his chair and typed something into his computer. "Not at all. Yours is not the first teenage pregnancy we've had here at Ashford Academy. Not even the first _male_ teenage pregnancy. You may remain in class as long as you wish, and if you find you are unable to attend you can choose to study independently until you're ready to resume classes." He turned to face Lelouch again. "I've just sent off for your schedule to be revised. Is there any other class you'd like to replace your 5th period gym class with?"

"Not particularly."

"Then I think a free period will suffice. You could go home and rest if you feel the need, or you could finish some homework. Just keep out of trouble."

For the first time that morning, a tiny grin found its way to Lelouch's lips. "Thank you, sir."

Professor Ashford pulled something from his printer and handed it to Lelouch. It was a note to his P.E. teacher. "Just give this to your coach at the beginning of class." Lelouch nodded. Professor Ashford looked at him sternly. "If there is anything you need, anything at all, you tell me. I'll make sure you receive the best medical attention money can buy. Dr. Autumns comes highly recommended from several other medical professionals, and I have great confidence in your decision."

"Thank you." Lelouch stood up and pulled his book-bag over his shoulder. "Thank you so much, professor."

"Please, don't mention it." Those great blue eyes glimmered warmly at him. "Now hurry, you'll be late for class."

* * *

Nunnally's fingers moved very quickly when she manipulated the slips of bright, pink paper. Each crane she made was precise and perfectly folded. When Lelouch compared them to his own handiwork, he was ashamed of himself. His cranes were all sloppy and shabbily folded. Nunnally just giggled as she felt the contours of his creations with her hands.

"You just need more practice," she told him. "My first ones weren't very good."

"I bet they were better than mine." Lelouch pulled another piece of the origami paper from a neat stack in the middle of the table.

"Just try to concentrate." She smiled softly at him and finished another delicately folded crane. It was placed in the pile with the rest of hers. Nunnally's pile had nearly thirty cranes, while Lelouch's had about twelve. He just sighed at his poor craftsmanship and continued his work.

"Suzaku has been having dinner with us a lot lately," she said. "I like it when the three of us spend the evening together. It reminds me of that summer all those years ago."

"Yeah." Lelouch smiled wistfully at the memories.

"It almost feels like we're a little family. It's nice."

He squirmed on the inside at those words. A family. He needed to tell her about the baby. He was so scared that she would be disappointed in him. What Nunnally thought of him was so important. He valued her opinion more than anyone else's. But he had to tell her. Regardless of the outcome.

"Nunnally." His hands quit folding the paper crane. "There's a reason Suzaku has been having dinner with us and staying the night so often."

She tilted her head. "What is it, Lelouch?"

His pulse began to race. He could feel his heart beating wildly in his ribcage, and his legs limbs suddenly felt very heavy. The room was beginning to grow hot, yet his skin was clammy and the sweat on his palms was cold. Yet the words seemed to come out on their own.

"I'm pregnant."

Nunnally's brow furrowed at his words. She reached for his hand and felt his rapid pulse. "You're pregnant?"

"Yes," he said nervously. "We're having a baby."

"You're…" Her mouth opened in shock. "You're having a baby."

"Yes."

For a moment, she was silent, her hands came up to cover her mouth and she let out a small surprised sound. Lelouch's heart started to sink. His fists began to clench his uniform pants desperately in hopes that she would say something.

"Lelouch, I'm… I'm so happy for you!"

Her hands moved from her mouth and she was grinning in joy. She reached for his hand and entwined his fingers with hers.

"You are?"

"Oh, yes! I'm so happy for you!" She giggled. "You're having a baby! A baby, Lelouch! Babies are so wonderful, and we're going to have one here! How far along are you?"

"Almost four weeks." There were no words to describe the incredible feeling of relief that took over his body.

"A whole month!" Nunnally clapped her hands joyfully. "This is so exciting, Lelouch! I'm going to be an aunt, and you're going to be a mother! We'll have to turn one of the spare rooms into a nursery, and you'll have to think of names for the baby! Oh, and when is Suzaku going to be here? I have to congratulate him too."

Lelouch was pulled into a very welcome embrace and wrapped his arms tightly around his little sister. He had thought she would be disappointed in him and maybe even a little angry. But he should have known better. His sweet little Nunnally could do nothing but look at the good in things, especially if there was a baby on the way. She was excited about being Auntie Nunnally.

"Oh, eight months is too long to wait," she moaned. "I wish the baby was here now."

"Eight months isn't that long. They'll be gone before you know it." Lelouch himself felt like it hadn't been long enough since he had taken those four pregnancy tests. And his second appointment with Dr. Autumns was that weekend.

"We have a lot of work to do." Nunnally put away the origami paper and pushed herself away from the table. "I'm going to tell Sayoko the good news." She kissed his cheek. "Congratulations, Lelouch."

"Thank you, Nunnally." He kissed her forehead. "You have no idea how much that means to me."

* * *

UGH. I _hated_ that last part! It just did not want to write, I didn't know what to do! That seems to happen a lot with my chapters. I just lose it towards the end. FEELS BAD, MAN.

Please ignore my complaints and leave me a lovely review. Or you can just tell me how much you think this chapter sucks! I like anything.


	6. First Baby Pictures

Hi! Sorry this chapter took so long to get out. I just haven't found any time to write at all. But you guys forgive me?

Right?

**Summary:** Accidents happen. That's a simple fact of life. Some of those accidents, however, tend to be less than simple. Mpreg, ololol.

* * *

The Black Knights were starting to get restless.

Lelouch had been putting off any plans for them, as much as he hated to admit it. Every time he attempted to draw up new plans for a new maneuver in his rebellion, his mind would wander. He would draw his knees up to his chin and sit for hours at a time, thinking. He thought about the future, about his relationship with Suzaku, about the baby they were going to have. Almost every spare moment he had was taken up by these musings.

Tonight, however, he had called the Black Knights to a meeting. Lelouch, in Zero's guise, informed them that they would be lying low for quite some time, unless absolutely necessary. They had all seemed a bit upset at the news, but Zero's word was law to them. Whatever he said went, and until Lelouch was presented with a genuine reason to do otherwise he said they remained immobile.

The Black Knights' headquarters was quite a long way from his home. It was a good bit of walking from the base itself to the nearest train, and it wasn't in the best of neighborhoods. Lelouch made sure to stay out of alleyways and out in the open to avoid any unwanted confrontations, at least until he reached the shuttle station. The last thing he needed was someone taking his bag only to open it up and find Zero's suit and mask.

Tonight was like any other night. He left headquarters, changed in a nearby abandoned building, and walked to the station. He took his usual train back to the area of town Ashford Academy was located in and walked the short way to the school itself. No one had noticed him going or leaving, and Nunnally wouldn't ask him where he'd been or who he'd been with. He knew she worried about him, but he also knew she was very reluctant to pry into his private life. Lately, though, he'd been wondering how the situation that was newly revealed to her would affect her disposition on his late-night outings.

The school grounds were desolate at night. There was usually not a soul to be seen when he returned home late in the evenings. Most of the lights in the clubhouse were off, which meant that Nunnally was either in her room waiting up for him or had just gone to bed. He hoped for latter; she needed her rest, and staying up until he returned home at some ungodly hour was not going to get her that. Nunnally's room was on the other side of the building and prevented him from seeing her light from her window, but his room was perfectly viewable from where he was standing. His light was on, which was strange, as Lelouch always turned his lights off before he left.

As he got closer, he noticed something else. There was a familiar rust-colored uniform jacket on his coat rack along with someone else's school bag. Lelouch's heart began to beat faster as he began to put things together, and his footsteps quickened in haste to get to the door. Suzaku had told him he would be working late that night, and that they wouldn't see each other until school the next morning. He had no idea Lelouch left, or that he made a habit of it and didn't come back until well after curfew. And Lelouch knew that he was going to be angry.

He slipped in as quietly as he could and stashed his bag in a nearby closet, planning to come back for it when Suzaku left. The house was threateningly silent, as if it knew what was about to unfold. Lelouch took his shoes off and carried them in his hand so he wouldn't wake Nunnally and crept down the hall. Upon reaching his door, he took a deep breath and tried to calm himself, then placed his hand on the doorknob and turned it.

Suzaku stood up from the bed as soon as he heard the mechanism in the doorknob creak. Lelouch didn't try to look surprised or innocent. For a moment, they just stared at each other. Suzaku's eyes were stern and his mouth was set in a hard line. Lelouch gazed back at him coolly. They both waited for the other to speak, Suzaku wanting an explanation and Lelouch refusing to give him one. When the silence was finally broken, Suzaku was the one who ended it, stepping towards Lelouch.

"Where were you all night?"

Lelouch entered the room and closed the door behind himself. He threw his shoes to the ground and took off his jacket to toss it on to his desk.

"Answer me."

"Out." The word was snappish and sharp. Suzaku's brows rose at his answer. Lelouch could see his jaw tighten.

"Out?" he asked. "Is that it? Out? Do you know what time it is?"

"Yes." Lelouch held up his wrist and tapped at the wristwatch there. "I know exactly what time it is."

"What were you doing while you were out?"

"What are you doing in my room?" Lelouch crossed his arms. "You told me you had to work late. Very late. And that I wouldn't get to see you tonight."

"My boss let me go early because he had a meeting with his sponsors, so I came here to tell you and possibly have dinner with you and Nunnally. But when I got here, Nunnally told me you hadn't come home yet. So I waited for you. I sat in here and waited for you to get home so that maybe, just maybe, we could spend some time together."

"How was I supposed to know you would be off work so early?"

"What does that matter? It's almost two in the morning, Lelouch! You've been gone for hours and no one has heard from you. I had no idea where you were!"

"What does it matter where I was?" Lelouch spat.

"I had no way of knowing if you were safe or not. I called you, I left messages, I sent you texts. You never answered or returned my calls or anything! I almost called the police! I was really worried about you." Suzaku looked him over and sighed, a hand rising to sift through his tousled brown curls. "You've been gambling again, haven't you?"

"Why should I have to tell you where I'm going? I'm perfectly capable of making my own choices and handling myself. If I decide to stay out until two in the morning, then I fucking will. You're not my mother, Suzaku."

Suzaku scoffed. "You don't get it, do you?" His eyes burned into Lelouch, fueled by a green fire. "You're _pregnant_, Lelouch! Five and a half weeks pregnant! With _our_ baby! Your life is not the only one at stake here!" Lelouch's eyes widened. "You should be getting more rest, more sleep! You can't be up at this hour of night, in lounges, challenging and humiliating people who could have your neck broken as soon as they snap their fingers! What if something happened to you?"

Lelouch shrank back guiltily from Suzaku. He refused to look at him, looking instead at his socked feet against the carpet. He was tired of being yelled at, and what was worse that everything that Suzaku had said was right. He was being careless and selfish, and if his decision ended up in being attacked in an alley, he would not be the only one to suffer for it.

"Look at me!" His head snapped up and he saw Suzaku in front of him, eyes glistening with tears and fists clenched. "Lelouch, if something ever happened to you, I don't… I'd…" He wiped at his tears with the heel of his palm. Lelouch stepped forward and, tenderly, pulled Suzaku close to him. He felt his arms encircle him and hold him tightly. He kissed the side of Suzaku's face and tilted his head so his lips were close to his ear.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I don't want you to worry about me. And you're right. I'm being irresponsible, and I'm sorry."

Suzaku took his face in his hands and kissed him. Lelouch sighed and slid his hands up into his curly hair. It had been a long time since Suzaku had touched him like this. He planned on enjoying it while he could. When Suzaku began to pull away, he whined agitatedly.

"Stay here tonight," he said. "We don't have to go to school tomorrow. We can stay here and sleep all day."

"No," he said sadly. "We both need to go to class. Especially me. Unless you feel you need more rest. Then you need to stay here and take it easy." He sighed. "I can't stay either."

Lelouch's face fell. "Why not?"

"I have to be at the barracks for inspection in the morning."

"Oh."

Suzaku kissed the top of his head, nose nestled in his hair. "I love you," he murmured, rubbing small circles in Lelouch's back. "Go to bed and get some sleep. You need your rest. I'll see you in the morning."

"Okay," Lelouch said quietly. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight." Suzaku released him and shuffled tiredly to the door, grabbing his coat and back along the way. When he was gone, Lelouch yawned and rubbed at his eyes. He felt drained, and more exhausted than he usually did. He supposed it had something to do with being pregnant. He was tired all the time now, no matter how much sleep he got. Eager to get into bed, he pulled on some clothes more suitable for sleeping and crawled underneath his comforter.

"I thought he was never going to leave."

Lelouch sat up and found C.C. sitting on the edge of his bed. His heart jumped at the sight of her. He hadn't even heard her come in.

"Where have you been all this time?" he asked.

"In the guest bedroom next to yours. He wasn't lying, you know. He's been in here since Nunnally went to bed. Almost five hours ago."

"I need to talk to you." He laid on his back, eyes staring up at the ceiling.

"Oh? About what?"

"About the rebellion." She moved closer to him, stretching herself out next to his body on the bed.

"What about the rebellion?" she said languidly.

"I won't be able to lead the Black Knights for very much longer." Her head came to rest on his arm, long hair spilling over his shoulder. "I can't. If I mysteriously disappear for extended periods of time like I used to, Suzaku will get suspicious. Not to mention, I could…" He trailed off, the very thought unsettling him.

"What?" C.C. yawned loudly.

"The stress could make me miscarry. I could be hurt in a fight. I might be captured."

"And you care too much about the baby to let that happen."

Lelouch turned away from her and was silent for some time. She sighed. Sitting up on her elbows, C.C. looked at him knowingly. "You just need to admit it. You love the child already, and you've only been pregnant for little over a month. You're starting to plan your life, your future, around it, and you don't even know if it's a boy or a girl yet."

"You say that like it's a bad thing, witch," he muttered quietly into his pillow.

"I'm not saying it's a bad thing." She tenderly touched his arm, trying to be as consoling as she could. "I've never had a child. I don't know what it feels like to love something so tiny and dependent on me unconditionally. But it doesn't sound like a bad thing to me."

Lelouch considered her words. He did love his baby. He wanted to give it the best future possible, and complications triggered by the stress of the rebellion would hardly contribute to that. "I need you to pose as Zero for me. At least until I have the baby and get back on my feet. I can't—I won't—put its life in anymore danger."

"Okay." She nodded. "I'll do it."

"Thank you."

With that, she snuggled up against his back and soon he felt her sleeping breaths against his spine. Lelouch, however, had too many things on his mind, and did not find him so easily that night.

* * *

"Do you think you'll get an ultrasound today?"

"Yes." Lelouch closed the pet magazine he was looking at and put it back in the shelf he found it in. "I do."

Suzaku smiled and leaned back in his chair. "I hope you do."

"You seem excited."

"I am," he said cheerfully, grinning at Lelouch. "I want to see it."

"Maybe we'll get to."

"Maybe."

Lelouch's blood-work had come in mostly normal for the stage he was at. His hormones were stable and his white blood cell count was good, given his immune system's history. Everything was going smoothly. They were back to see Dr. Autumns for a second appointment to make sure everything was as it should be.

When she entered their exam room, Suzaku was delighted to see that she was wheeling an ultrasound machine in with her.

"This is the new 3D model," she said. "The quality is much better than the previous ones. I thought you would like to try it out for me."

Suzaku nodded and his smile grew wider. "We would like that."

"Wonderful." She dimmed the light and pulled a stool up to the machine's screen. "Mr. Lamperouge, I'm going to need you to lie on your back then lift up your shirt and lower your pants over your hips."

Lelouch did everything she told him, resting his hands over his chest. She squirted a clear, blue gel on his skin from a plastic bottle. It was surprisingly warm. After the machine was completely turned on, she took a small wand and used it to smooth the gel over his abdomen. On the screen, his organs flashed by as she searched for his makeshift uterus.

"Ah," she said, pressing a few buttons on the machine's keyboard. "There it is." A few more buttons were pressed and the picture zoomed in on something small and pink nestled safely inside of Lelouch. His eyes widened at the little image.

Suzaku leaned in to get a closer look at the screen. "Is that…?"

"Yes, Mr. Kururugi." Dr. Autumns smiled at them. "That is your baby."

It was nothing but a tiny little speck of pink surrounded by a cushion of red tissue. There was nothing particularly special about the way it looked, but the sight of the tiny embryo sent Lelouch's heart fluttering like a hummingbird's wings. A rush of emotions swept through his system, reminding him that there was a little life inside of him, and that he was staring at it through a television screen. His eyes began to well up with tears.

"It's very small, and it has next to no features, but that is definitely an embryo. Everything seems to be normal as well."

Lelouch barely heard her. He could register her voice, and feel Suzaku's hand enveloping his, but the little baby on the screen was the world he was in at that moment. That was his baby, _their_ baby. It was perfect in every single way and nothing anybody said could change that to him. He felt that he would go to any lengths to protect it and keep it safe. The sudden surge of love for the tiny creature left him weak and speechless.

He remembered telling Suzaku to make sure they got pictures to take with them and to show Rivalz, and possibly the rest of their friends. That moment was one he would cherish for the rest of his life.

* * *

Please leave a lovely little review and tell me everything you loved or hated about this chapter.

:D


	7. Stomach Bug

Haaaay, guise. Danke for all the reviews. They were nice. Here's the next chapter for you!

By the way, has anyone heard the new Insane Clown Posse song, Miracles? Fucking stupid.

**Summary:** Accidents happen. That's a simple fact of life. Some accidents, however, tend to be less than simple. Mpreg, ololol.

* * *

It was like someone had flipped a switch.

One minute, Lelouch was about to enjoy his mandarin chicken salad, with toasted almonds and sesame seeds. He was very excited about this salad. Sayoko had made it especially for him before he left for school, and he had waited all morning for the chance to finally indulge in it. He normally ate a sandwich or a bag of chips for lunch, but today was going to be different.

Well, until his stomach tried to turn itself inside out.

He had taken almost three bites of lettuce and chicken when he had to let go of his fork and hold his hand over his mouth. A sudden and intense wave of pure nausea swept over him, leaving him breathless. Lelouch had to gather all the strength he could muster and force himself to swallow what was in his mouth. He felt like he was going to be sick.

For the rest of lunch period, he sat outside with the rest of the student council, his closed box of salad in his lap. He tried to be very quiet, as it seemed the next time he opened his mouth he would vomit. When the bell rang, Lelouch stood and threw the rest of his salad away, sighing sadly at the waste. He had really been looking forward to his lunch. The rest of his friends started towards the clubhouse, and he followed them silently at the back of their group. Suzaku wasn't at school that day and he'd mostly kept to himself through classes.

His head was sitting on the table with his arms folded around his face. He wanted so much to just close his eyes, but the every time he tried that it felt like the world was about to fall off its hinges. The air around him began to spin. He could vaguely hear Millay barking at Rivalz, Shirley, Kallen, and Nina but he wasn't following what was said at all. Lelouch was too wrapped up in his swimming head. He'd known this would happen eventually. He used to hear stories about how sick his mother was when she was carrying him, and he could somewhat remember how miserable she was with Nunnally. He had been hopeful that he would be one of those people that just didn't suffer from morning sickness, but by now those hopes had fled his thoughts completely. And this was just the beginning. Things were going to get much worse.

"… Are you listening to me?"

The chatter had stopped. Lelouch, snapped out of his nausea-induced stupor, looked up pitifully at the rest of the student council. They were all staring at him, particularly Millay. Her eyes were boring into him, a spark of intuition in her gaze. She could instantly tell something wasn't right. "Lelouch, I was talking to you."

He tried to sit up, his forearms braced on the table to keep his upper half steady. He suddenly felt very cold and very weak, almost like he was going to faint. "Lelouch?" Rivalz asked. "What's wrong?"

"Your eyes are all glazed over." Shirley tenderly touched her palm to his forehead. "And you're so pale."

"I…" He promptly shut his mouth, immediately regretting his decision to speak. A wave of sickness broke over him, so strong that he almost double over. Quickly, he snatched up the small trashcan that was sitting beside Rivalz's chair and vomited into it the small bran muffin he'd eaten that morning. He heard Shirley gasp, and before he could look up again, Millay had rushed to him to pull his hair away from his face.

"Are you all right?" she asked him once he had finished. A couple of tissues were placed in his hand and the can placed near him on the table. He shook his head and wiped his mouth. There were tears in his eyes from the gagging.

"I think… I should go home," he murmured quietly. His voice was shaky.

"I think so too." Millay wiped away some of the sweat that had gathered on his forehead. "Rivalz, why don't you go get his things? And, Shirley, go tell administration that he's leaving for today. I'll talk to my grandfather about it later." She stood from kneeling beside him and put a hand on his shoulder. "Come on. I'll take you home."

"Here you go, buddy." Rivalz gave him his shoulder bag. "I'll get your homework for you."

"Should I take this along?" Millay picked up the trashcan.

"I don't know." He swallowed a mouthful of foul-tasting saliva. "Yeah."

"Okay." Her hand gently touched his back as he stood up, moving in a small circle. "I'll be right back."

* * *

"Do you think this has anything to do with that stomach virus you had a couple months ago?" She smoothed out the comforter on his bed, having already fluffed his pillow and put his shoes in his closet. Lelouch had wanted to tell her not to, but in the end it was always best to let Millay do what she felt needed to be done.

"No."

"No?" She cocked her head. He went to lie down on the mattress. His body felt heavy, and his organs still felt like they had a chokehold on each other. "Something you ate maybe? Some new medicine? You've been looking a bit peaky lately."

For a few moments, he took some clean, deep breaths. He could smell Suzaku's cologne and his own conditioner from the pillowcase, as well as the lilacs outside his window. The deep scent almost helped to settle his stomach.

"I'm pregnant."

Millay's body whipped around to face him. "What?" she asked. A hand moved to rest on her hip.

"I'm pregnant. With Suzaku's baby."

The puzzled expression left her face. "Oh." She crossed her arms and rested her weight on his desk. "How long?"

"About six and a half weeks."

"So… morning sickness?"

"Yes."

Millay nodded. "And you're keeping the baby?"

"Yeah."

They were both silent for a moment. Millay moved to sit at the foot of his bed. She pulled his feet into her lap. "Do you know what my sister's husband used to do when she was pregnant with my niece?"

He sat up on his elbows. "What?"

"When she would get really bad backaches, and she felt like everything was beginning to fall apart, he would cook her dinner. Then after dinner he would make a bath for her, with rose bubble bath and a cup of tea, and when she got out he would rub her feet. She told me that on days like that she didn't feel so doomed after all."

"You should tell Suzaku that story."

She laughed. "Oh don't you worry. I will." She stood up and kissed his forehead, slipping her shoes on. "After I tell him that my brother-in-law had a vasectomy when she had their son next."

"Don't." He smiled. "Don't tell him that last part."

"Oooookay." With a tiny wave, she left him to go back to school. He sighed. The thought of getting his feet massaged and Suzaku cooking him dinner left his spirits in a better state than they had been since lunch.

That is, of course, until he rolled over to retch into the trashcan once more.

* * *

Suzaku had not had the best day.

He had to attend a maintenance meeting with Lloyd and Miss Cecile. That meant he had to spend the day with the both of them in a cold conference room to be scowled at and sit with his hands in his lap while a team of The Second Prince's councilors asked Lloyd and his assistant questions. Occasionally, Suzaku himself would be thrown a question. He'd tried to answer as politely and accurately as he could, but every word out of his mouth earned him a haughty look and notes taken on a clipboard. He'd only had ten minutes for a lunch break, and after those ten minutes Lloyd insisted on testing new software for the Lancelot. And, on top of all that, he was coming back to Lelouch's place later than he'd said he would. It seemed a bit hypocritical after the scathing fight they'd had.

He was starving when he left Lloyd's hangar. In a hurry to get home and still be able to eat dinner with Lelouch and his sister, Suzaku stopped by a small shack close to the ghetto and bought an onigiri. It was devoured in a matter of minutes as he ran from train to train. When he arrived at the Ashford clubhouse, he was surprised to see no one in the dining room. Nunnally was usually doing her homework with Lelouch or folding cranes at the table at the time of the evening.

"Suzaku, is that you?"

"Nunnally?" She wheeled herself in from the hallway. There was a nervous look on her face. "Where's Lelouch?"

"Lelouch is sick," she told him. "He's been in the bathroom since I got home. Millay said she brought him home after lunch."

"Oh." Suzaku bit his lip. He'd been anticipating this. He had done some reading a few days prior, and his book said that morning sickness usually started about six weeks in. Lelouch was almost seven weeks. "I'll go find him."

"He's not in the best of moods," Nunnally warned him.

"I'll be all right." Taking his shoes off and putting them in the closet, he went down the hallway in search of Lelouch. Sure enough, he could hear a small groan coming from the bathroom. He knocked. "Hey. It's Suzaku."

"What?"

He opened the door. Lelouch was sitting on his knees, arms crossed over his stomach and head leaning over the edge of the toilet. He was horribly pale and his damp, scraggly bangs were hanging in the way of puffy red eyes. He looked miserably at Suzaku and didn't say another word.

"Nunnally told me you were sick."

"I am." He grimaced and clenched his eyes shut, forcing himself to swallow the saliva in his mouth. "I vomited in front of the student council. Millay made me come home."

"I heard." Lelouch's jaw clenched. He leaned forward and Suzaku, reflexively, knelt next to him to smooth the hair away from his face. Lelouch threw up into the toilet bowl, pitiful gagging sounds escaping the back of his throat. When he finished, he spit into the toilet and reached for a bottle of water. He took a sip and used it to rinse out the inside of his mouth. "Is there anything I can do for you?" Suzaku asked, feeling utterly useless.

"No." Lelouch shook his head. "I can't think of anything." With a sigh, he leaned back against one of the bathroom walls.

Suzaku moved to sit beside Lelouch, placing an arm around his shoulders. "I'm sorry you feel like this."

"Yeah." He scoffed. "Me too."

"I think it'll be worth it, though." He tried to give him a hopeful smile. Lelouch nodded.

"I really hope it is." He leant in to rest his head on Suzaku's chest, a soft breath escaping him. Almost instantly upon making contact with the orange uniform jacket, his head came back up, eyes shut and brow furrowed. "Ugh," he said, a hand coming to clutch at his throat. "God, is that rice? Did you have rice?"

"Um, yeah, on the way home I stopped and got some. Why?"

Lelouch got back to his knees and leant into the toilet bowl again. His shoulders arched once, and he promptly threw up again. A pained moan escaped his lips and his hand found the water bottle.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!" Suzaku stood up. "I'll be right back, Lelouch, I'm sorry." With that he left the room to change into something that didn't smell so strongly of food.

* * *

Okay, there you go! A brand new chapter! And I think this one deserves a lot of reviews, if I do say so myself.


	8. Ups and Downs

Hello! All your reviews are great, keep at 'em, guise. Iz nice!

**Summary**: Accidents happen. That's a simple fact of life. Some of those accidents, however, tend to be less than simple. Mpreg, ololol.

* * *

When Suzaku returned from work for the weekend, he loosened his tie and took off his uniform jacket. Lelouch didn't particularly like to see him wear it, and since he hadn't been in the best of moods the entire week, Suzaku decided to remove it for him.

Lelouch was absolutely miserable. He hadn't been to school since the day morning sickness had first hit him. He spent most of his time in bed and in the bathroom, throwing up his insides or racing to empty his overactive bladder. The thought of food made him sick enough to gag, so finding something he was willing to eat had been a challenge. The real struggle was in convincing Lelouch to make an effort to eat. He was exhausted to the point of apathy, and would rather sleep that confront the ache in his stomach. With much prodding from Sayoko, however, he managed to keep down a few mouthfuls of food a day.

Lelouch was, as Suzaku had suspected, asleep under his quilt. The pillows were piled around his head, a little cove of fresh clean linens. He didn't hear the door open or Suzaku creep across the floor, but when another body joined him on the mattress, crawling up close to him, his eyelids fluttered and opened.

"Good morning." Suzaku chuckled. Lelouch looked blearily around the room, rubbing at his sleepy eyes.

"What time is it?"

"Almost three." Suzaku kissed his forehead. "Did you eat anything today?"

Lelouch nodded, burying his face in his sheets.

"What?"

"Sayoko brought me some melon earlier. I ate a little of that."

"That's not very much."

"Would you rather me eat a little bit of melon or throw up an entire meal?"

"All right." He grinned. "Any cravings?"

"I've had this horrible craving to just _die_ these past two weeks."

"Don't say that." Suzaku settled against him, pulling him close. "You'll be feeling better in no time."

"You're just saying that."

"I promise." He laid a tender kiss on his mouth and sat up. "You need to shower. Your eight weeks appointment is in an hour and a half."

Lelouch threw a pillow over his head. "I'm skipping it," he mumbled against the pillowcase.

"No, you're not."

"Can't we just reschedule it?" he asked, sitting up huffily.

"No."

"Fine!" Fuming, he stood up and stomped into the bathroom, harshly shutting the door behind him. Suzaku laughed quietly, making sure Lelouch didn't hear him. His mood swings were becoming more frequent. Although he had put on next to no weight at all, his new emotional baggage was enough to balance out the missing pudge around his middle.

Dr. Autumns had warned them that Craine baby pregnancies often developed into high-risk pregnancies, with the immune system deficiencies and a mysterious obstruction to weight gain. So far, Lelouch's body hadn't rejected to embryo. That had been one of Dr. Autumns's biggest fears in the beginning. Many Craine virus children lose their babies in the few weeks because their systems see the embryo as a pathogen and destroy it. Luckily, this had not been the case with Lelouch. He was right on schedule, if not a little bit of a late bloomer.

"There's not really much I can do about your morning sickness." Dr. Autumns crossed her arms. "I'd like to stress just how important it is you make an effort to gain weight. I know that right now you the last thing you feel like doing is eating, but you'll just have to try and find something healthy that doesn't make you sick. Hopefully you'll start feeling better in a couple of weeks."

She was right. Lelouch felt nothing like eating. He knew he was behind on his weight gain though and it was beginning to weigh on his conscience.

"I'm also going to prescribe you prenatal vitamins. I've booked appointments for you every two weeks until the scheduled due date to keep an eye on everything. If something does go wrong, it's best we catch it early before it is allowed to get worse. Of course, if you ever have any questions at all feel free to call me whenever you like."

She wrote a prescription, handed it to Lelouch, and bid them farewell until their next visit. A nurse came in to take Lelouch's blood, to which he reluctantly complied, and they left. Outside the clinic, Suzaku looked at him thoughtfully.

"When did she say the due date was?" he asked, walking a little closer to Lelouch.

"May eighteenth."

Suzaku nodded. "That's a long time."

"You say that," he said, smiling. "That won't be the case when it actually gets here."

"Yeah. You're right." His had grabbed for Lelouch's, tangling their fingers together.

Lelouch's demeanor suddenly changed, his brow slashed with a small from and his eyes deep in thought. They walked in silence for a small while before he spoke again. His voice was considerate.

"I've never been very good at putting on weight."

Suzaku's mouth tightened; he had been worried about that too. Ever since he had first known Lelouch, he'd been rail-thin and bony. The Craine virus had somewhat hampered his body's ability to absorb nutrients. He could still get many of the minerals he needed from the food he ate, but he had taken a multivitamin every day of his life for as long as he could remember. He ate like a hummingbird—frequently and in small amounts, usually foods high in sugars and carbohydrates. Not very many fats or much protein. Not exactly a diet designed for increasing body mass.

"We'll have to change the way you eat. Maybe some new vitamins will help."

"Maybe." He massaged his forehead, wincing in discomfort. "I have a headache," he murmured. "I've been getting a lot of headaches lately."

"Maybe that's a good thing," Suzaku said optimistically. He smiled.

"Yes," Lelouch muttered, "It's absolutely wonderful."

* * *

One week later, Lelouch's appetite began to return. He still occasionally became sick, but not as intensely sick as before. He joined them for meals and started to get out of bed before noon, claiming that his mattress was making his back ache.

"I don't think it's the bed that makes your back hurt, Lelouch," Suzaku teased him one day, tickling his abdomen. Lelouch, horrified, huffed and swatted his hands away in disgust.

Mood swings were becoming more frequent, Suzaku quickly found out. One minute, Lelouch would be loving and sweet and affectionate, cuddling up to him on the couch in the afternoon, then he would get up to go to the bathroom only to return hissing and spitting because Suzaku's toothbrush had been too close to his in their cup. When Suzaku pointed out that the germs on his toothbrush should mean nothing to him by now, he immediately regretted it. Lelouch went silent, staring at him with wide, shining eyes, then burst into tears and began bawling.

"Are you saying that it's no surprise you knocked me up?" he sobbed, tears falling from his chin. "That your saliva should be the last thing I'm worried about?"

"What? God, Lelouch, no! That's not what I said at all!" He looked at him helplessly, confused and unsure of how Lelouch would interpret anything else he said. "I meant that it's just my toothbrush. We kiss each other. I don't see how my toothbrush touching yours is any different from that—oh god, please don't cry, I didn't mean to upset you. I'm sorry."

"No, that's not why I'm crying." Suzaku stared at him questioningly. "Well, yes, it was a second ago, but now I just can't believe I was angry about something so _stupid_." He sniffed and wiped at his wet face. "I feel like I'm going crazy. Like I'm going to catch on fire or explode or something. One second I'm fine, I'm happy and I'm in a really good mood and then the next I'm angry and I don't know whether to throw up, pass out, or have sex with you. I… I just…"

Suzaku put his hands on Lelouch's shoulders, expression compassionate and eyes glowing with love. "Do you want to rest a little bit? Take a nap?"

"Yes. Yes, I think I'll do that." Arms crossed, Lelouch left the sitting room for his bed, chest heaving tiredly as he did so. His little episode had used quite a bit of the little energy his pregnant body allowed him. A nap sounded promising.

Suzaku sighed wearily. Things were only going to get more intense, and he worried about Lelouch. He had hoped to relax just a bit before work, but now that Lelouch had gone to bed he supposed he would just go. The sooner he left to finish the testing Lloyd wanted, the sooner he could come back to a hopefully calmer Lelouch.

When he arrived at Lloyd's hangar, however, his thoughts of taking his mind off things vanished.

When he arrived, Lloyd's mysterious grin and calculating gaze swept over him analytically. He picked up on something, Suzaku could see it in his eyes, but he had no idea what Lloyd was thinking.

"You look shaken," he said, giggling quietly.

"Lloyd," Cecile called from her touch-screen clipboard. "It's not polite to assume things."

"Oh, but look at him." Lloyd shoved his hands in his pockets and glanced at her from over his shoulder. "Eyes flighty, fingers twitchy. He looks harried."

She ignored him. "It's also not polite to speak about someone as if they are not present."

"Must you chastise every word that comes out of my mouth, woman?" he snapped.

"Until you learn to be civil," she looked up from her work and smiled a fakely sweet smile. "Yes."

"I'll not speak to you for the rest of the day." Lloyd turned from her, focusing his powdery eyes on his poor young pilot once again. "Just how pregnant is he, boy?"

Suzaku dropped the bag containing his flight-suit on Cecile's desk, sending papers and pens flying everywhere. Apologizing, he dashed to pick them up, heart racing from Lloyd's question.

"Oh my," Lloyd laughed staring down at him. "Was I not supposed to know?"

"What?" Cecile's attention shifted from her clipboard to Suzaku on the floor, scrambling for her papers. She bent down to retrieve a few and helped him up to his feet. "Know what?"

"Millay, my fiancé, told me an interesting bit of news about Suzaku."

Suzaku's cheeks burned. He gathered his suit's bag into his arms once more, eyes to the ground.

"What is it, Lloyd?" Cecile's voice was stern. Stern enough to make Lloyd speak.

"It seems our Suzaku is going to be a father." Cecile's eyes widened. "Millay's friend Lelouch is pregnant."

"Suzaku." Cecile stepped closer to him, her clipboard held to her chest. "Is it true?"

He looked at her, eyes bright with embarrassment. "I was going to tell both of you. I really was. You're my legal guardians, and… It's just, things have been so hectic, and I couldn't find the right time."

Lloyd sighed. "I suppose this means you'll be asking for more leave sometime in the future."

"Lloyd Asplund!" Cecile threw stylus at him and hit him over the head with her touch-screen. "How could you be so insensitive? Sometimes, I just cannot believe…!" She turned away from him, eyes closed, and took a few deep breaths. When she opened her eyes to Suzaku, they were soft and concerned.

"Don't worry about me, Miss Cecile; I'm going to be fine." He tried to offer her a smile. "I promise."

"Suzaku, you're so young."

"Lelouch has already seen a doctor. I'm going to apply for family pay so I can receive an extra check. We'll finish school and raise the baby together."

"Oh, Suzaku, but you're just a baby yourself." Cecile held his face in her hands, worry etched all over her face. She sighed and pulled him into a hug. "If you need anything, anything at all, you can ask me or Lloyd and we'll make sure it gets taken care of. Whatever it is."

Lloyd crossed his arms. "But—"

"_Anything_." She smoothed down his hair affectionately and tried to give him a reassuring smile, but he could tell she was still a little upset. "So, your friend Lelouch is a Craine baby then?"

"Yeah." Suzaku nodded.

"How far along is he?"

"Eight weeks."

"And he wants to eat you alive?" Lloyd chuckled to himself, dodging Cecile's open palm.

"… Yes."

"Do something nice for him," Cecile suggested. "Make him dinner, give him a gift. Take him out on a date." She smiled. "He'll appreciate it. I promise."

* * *

"Hello!"

Lelouch sat up in his chair when he heard Suzaku open the door, in a much more complacent mood than he had been when he left. He'd just said goodnight to Nunnally and put on his nightclothes. Suzaku entered the dining room, a large grin on his face. Lelouch gave him a puzzled look.

"What's with that smile?" he asked, taking a bite of the cookie he was indulging in. "Did something bad happen to your boss."

"I got you something." He sat down next to Lelouch, placing a small paper bag on the table. Lelouch looked at it.

"What is it?"

"Open it."

He took the little bag and looked inside, removing a small, folded bundle of tissue paper. When he unfolded the paper, a small ring fell into his lap. Lelouch jumped to pick up and looked at it in the light.

"Ah," he said, a smile finding his lips.

"There was a vendor selling some knick-knacks and interesting little things. There was a cup of stone rings, and I saw this one. I thought you would like it."

Lelouch admired his new ring. It was a pewter ring encased in blue stone, little veins of a lighter, almost grey mineral laced into it. It fit perfectly on his finger. His eyes grew starry as he gazed at it on his hand.

"I love it."

"Good." Suzaku laid his head on the table. "I'm glad."

Lelouch leant in and kissed him. At first it was sweet, just a soft goodnight kiss, but then he scraped his teeth along Suzaku's bottom lip and they were kissing intensely, right in the middle of the dining room. Lelouch pulled away, grinning like a cat and staring intently into Suzaku's eyes.

"You're going to regret doing that," Suzaku murmured, moving in to touch his lips to a pale collarbone.

"No, I don't think I will." Lelouch sighed. "There are enough hormones in my system to kill you."

"Let's go to bed."

"Yes, let's."

Lelouch stood up, and Suzaku eagerly followed him to his room.

* * *

All right. There it is.

Reviewwwwwwwwwwwwww!


	9. Haters Gonna Hate

Hey everyone! I finally finished To See the Ocean! It was a lot of fun and if you haven't read it you probably should. It's amazing. Completely amazing. Yeah.

**Summary**: Accidents happen. That's a simple fact of life. Some of those accidents, however, tend to be less than simple.

* * *

During his eleventh week, Lelouch returned to school.

At this point, morning sickness and ravenous hunger took turns with his appetite. He was either green with nausea, his stomach threatening to jump out of his mouth, or he was starving and ready to eat anything whatever he found in the pantry. The decline in vomiting had prompted Suzaku's idea that he should return to school.

"Everyone's been wondering how you've been doing," he had told him. "Millay told them that your stomach virus was back. The whole student council's been worried."

"What if I get sick again?" Lelouch groused.

"Then you can go to the nurse and get permission to leave." Suzaku had wrapped his arms around Lelouch, nuzzling his neck. "Come on. I miss you when I'm gone. We can spend more together this way." He smiled optimistically when Lelouch glared at him. "You have to go back to class at some point. Why not now?"

"Fine." He sighed. "I'll go on Monday."

So here he was. Walking to the main building of Ashford Academy, once again in his school uniform. He was pleased to find that it still fit perfectly. The uniform jacket was no more snug around his middle than it had been the last time he'd worn it. Despite being absent from class, Lelouch had been keeping up with his school work as best he could. He wasn't worried about being behind.

Suzaku had stayed in his military dorm the night prior and promised to meet him in second period, the first class they shared. Schoolbag slung over his shoulder, Lelouch opened the doors of the main building and began to navigate the halls for his locker.

Ashford Academy was buzzing.

The second he stepped inside, he immediately felt uncomfortable. Usually, he wasn't noticed by other students. Aside from the occasional bashful smile from a nervous girl or a kind hello from another classmate, he was left alone for the most part. Lelouch wasn't unpopular; he attempted to be polite to other students, unless they really warranted his negative attentions, so he was normally left out of the horrible gossip or propaganda his classmates stirred up. This morning was different. He felt eyes on him from everywhere. He didn't miss the sneers or glares thrown his way from people he once considered himself on good terms with. Brow furrowed, he tried to ignore them and continue on to his locker.

While he was entering his combination into his lock, a pair of girls locked their scrutinizing gazes on him. One, blonde, with a pink ribbon tied into her long hair, turned to her friend and began talking to her in hushed tones. Her friend, a tall girl wearing the gaudiest earrings he had ever seen, listened intently. They both pulled away, giggling hideously. Lelouch could feel the anger welling up inside him as he gathered his books for first period. They didn't even have the decency to try to be discreet about their gossip. Their eyes still on him, Lelouch slammed his locker shut and threw them the nastiest look he could manage.

So much for a return to a normal routine. His first class was chemistry, which was all the way in the science wing. Those accusing whispers followed him down the hallway, no matter how quickly he walked. However badly he wished they weren't talking about what he assumed, Lelouch didn't miss the fleeting glances directed at his abdomen. His stomach sank to the floor. How could they know about—?

"Ah!"

A broad shoulder slammed into his chest. Lelouch fell to the floor on his hands and knees, his books tumbling to the ground beside him. His binder fell open, papers falling out and scattering everywhere. He hissed at the stinging in his palms and the pain in his kneecaps, which would surely be bruised tomorrow. Lips curling into a scowl, he looked up to who it was that had knocked him down. A boy, much larger than Lelouch, gazed coolly down at him with raised brows. James Edelton was his name, he remembered.

"What the fuck is your problem?" he snarled, reaching out for his scattered papers. Onlookers only watched as he glared hatefully at James. None came forward to help him up or hand him his discarded notes. James scoffed. Taking a foreboding step forward, he came closer and leered at Lelouch.

"Watch where you tread, Lamperouge," he muttered darkly, and then he turned around. Lelouch watched him walk away, anger coursing through his veins like acid. His face was pink with embarrassment and his pride was bruised. Looking to the ground, he silently returned to picking up his things as the crowd around him began to go about their business.

There was a tap on his shoulder. Turning, he came face to face with a distraught Millay holding out a stack of his notes. He snatched them from her and tucked them back into his binder. She reached out to take hold of his wrist.

"I need to talk to you," she murmured quietly. "Come on."

Reluctantly, he straightened his bag on his shoulder and followed her into an empty classroom. She shut the door behind them and looked up at him miserably.

Lelouch rounded on her. "What did you say?" he hissed, slamming his textbook and binder on to a desk. "What the _hell_ did you say, Millay?"

"I didn't say anything."

"Then why is the entire school talking about me?" Lelouch yelled. "You and Rivalz were the only ones who knew, and now the whole student body is treating me like trash! If you didn't say anything, then who did?"

"Shirley told me she overheard Peter Coldwell saying something about the office where his mother works. He says he saw you and Suzaku there. That you were talking about a baby and a due date. He did some digging in the office computers and found Dr. Autumns's records on you."

Lelouch felt all the air leave his lungs in one long exhale. Suddenly feeling weak, he braced himself against a desk, eyes closing in irritation. He knew Peter Coldwell. He was the vice president of the Computer Sciences Club under Nina. Lelouch had never spoken to him before, and Peter had no reason to harbor ill will towards him. He was surprised he never realized it before; thinking back on it now, Peter Coldwell and the nurse that had been taking his blood for the last couple of months had the same eyes and hair.

"So… Everyone knows now?"

"I'm so sorry, Lelouch." Millay stepped forward and laid a hand on his shoulder. "It's not the first time someone in the academy has gotten pregnant, I'm sure it'll blow over—"

Lelouch scoffed. "This isn't going to _blow over, _Millay. I'm having _Suzaku's_ baby. Everyone knows that now. They don't know Suzaku; to them he's just an Eleven. And now it's gotten out that, not only have I been _sleeping with him_, but we're having a baby." He ran a hand through his hair, taking a fistful and holding it at the roots. "I love Suzaku, no matter where he was born, and I would never let something as stupid as this jeopardize what we have. But you _cannot_ tell me that this is just going to blow over. No one is going to forget about the boy who spread his legs for an Eleven and got knocked up for it."

"Lelouch, stop it!" Millay had tears in her eyes, but her jaw was set into a frown. "Listen to yourself. You almost sound like you think you _deserve_ this. They might talk about you and be stupid and small-minded, but they don't _know_ anything, Lelouch. They don't know Suzaku, they don't know you, and they certainly don't know anything about what happened. You can't let it get to you."

"I don't plan on it." Taking his books, Lelouch opened the door. "I'll see you at the student council meeting later today."

"Be careful," Millay said after him. He walked as quickly as he could to chemistry and silently sat at his desk beside Rivalz. His friend turned to him and bit his lip, not sure of what to say.

"I talked to Millay," Lelouch told him, laying his head atop his folded arms.

"I'm really sorry, man." Rivalz put a hand on his shoulder. "I tried to speak up for you, tell some people it was a lie. No one was willing to believe me."

"It's not your fault."

"Still…" He sighed. "I feel awful about the whole thing."

"Don't," Lelouch muttered angrily. His whole demeanor darkened. "It's not worth it."

The bell rang not long after, and people filed in the chemistry classroom. Lelouch could _feel_ the eyes on him, feel them boring into his spine and the back of his skull. His teacher stood up at the front behind his desk and began to droll on about reaction times and catalysts, but Lelouch could hardly concentrate on the lecture. He began to half-heartedly take notes, very aware of the whispers from neighboring desks.

About halfway through the class period, there was a nudge at his elbow and when Lelouch looked up to see what it was, a neatly folded piece of paper lay on his desk. He frowned at it. Against his better judgment, he picked up the little note and unfolded it, stiffening visibly at what it said.

_So tell me; how does eleven cock taste, Lulu?_

Hate bubbled inside of him, like a pot full of boiling water overflowing on a stove. Lelouch could feel himself shaking with rage, but he remained quiet. He couldn't let this get to him; he couldn't give them what they wanted. They wanted him to feel embarrassed, they _wanted_ him to feel hurt, but he wasn't going to give them the satisfaction of seeing exactly how upset he was.

Rivalz took the note from his hand and crumpled it up with a trembling fist. When lecture was over and there were a few minutes of class to spare, he turned around to face the person who passed Lelouch the note and threw it on their desk. "Try to be a little more juvenile next time," he hissed and turned back around, seething. Lelouch's eyes locked with his for a second, and he gave him a tiny smile.

"Thank you," he said quietly.

The bell signaling the end of first period rang and Lelouch was the first one out. He raced to his locker to switch his books and make his way to geography. He hoped Suzaku hadn't been treated quite as badly as he had; people had already given him a hard time about being Japanese when he first enrolled. That had since died down, but something like this was sure to bring back those same feelings in some students.

He almost ran directly into Suzaku in front of his geography classroom. He hadn't been looking, too deep in thought, but he quickly snapped out of it when he felt hands on his shoulders. "Lelouch," Suzaku said. His eyes were wide and concerned, and it almost made Lelouch sick. "Are you—"

"I'm fine." He waved off the question he knew Suzaku wanted to ask. "We'll talk about this later. In private."

Suzaku blinked and nodded, a frustrated breath escaping him. He followed Lelouch into geography, trailing him somewhat protectively. He'd already heard in first period about James Edelton knocking Lelouch to the ground. His blood had boiled; Lelouch was _pregnant_, for god's sake. What kind of monster did something like that?

Lelouch sat at his desk and took a deep breath. This entire fiasco was giving him an enormous headache. Sighing, he crossed his arms over the top of the table he shared with Suzaku and buried his face in the welcome darkness his folded forearms provided. Headaches like this where becoming more and more frequent for him, and now all the stress was just making it worse. A hand on his shoulder made him jump, and he looked up to see Suzaku gazing at him worriedly.

"Do you want me to sit somewhere else?" he asked. As more and more people filed in, they were getting more scandalous looks and the room began to hum with gossip.

"No." Lelouch reached out and latched on to his wrist. "No, sit with me."

"You know this is only going to make things worse," he murmured.

"I don't care!" Lelouch frowned. "I don't care what else in this school thinks of me, Suzaku. None of it is their business, and it sucks that it got out the way it did. But I'm not going to let something as insignificant and _petty_ as high school gossip come between us."

"Lelouch, some of these people would love nothing more than to _hurt_ you because of this. Because of _me._ I'm not going to let that happen."

"And I'm not going to let you ponder how little you think your self-worth is. I am as much to blame for this as you are, and you're an idiot to think that removing yourself from the situation is going to make things any better. So stop it. Stop thinking that you've ruined me and that this is all your fault, because it's not."

Suzaku had nothing to say to that. Reluctantly, he closed his mouth and turned to face the front of the classroom where their teacher was sitting at her desk, waiting for her second period class to arrive. The bell rang and Lelouch groaned, fingers digging into his scalp at the biting sound worsening his headache.

Today was going to be a long day.

* * *

Lelouch was not anticipating the student council meeting.

Suzaku had to make up an algebra test, which meant he would probably miss most of the meeting. Which meant Lelouch was going to face all of his friends by himself. He had spent his lunch period at home with Nunnally and Suzaku to avoid them, but now there was no avoiding it. They needed to know the truth from him.

Lelouch was exhausted. Doubled with the stress of an entire school-day, which he hadn't experienced for quite some time, the energy his body used in making placenta for the small life inside him completely sapped him of willpower to do anything other than go home, curl up in his bed and stay there for as long as possible. Sayoko, who thought of everything, had sent him to school with a little bag of dried fruit and nuts to curb his bouts of unbearable hunger. However, that day had been one of those nausea-and-dizziness days. Lelouch sat through most of his classes with his head in his hand and eyes closed, willing his body to refrain from forcing him into the school bathroom. He'd hardly eaten anything at lunch, opting instead to sip at some water he'd boiled with a grapefruit peel. He found that sometimes helped to settle his stomach.

The walk to his locker before the student council meeting was longer than it should have been. Lelouch's books were heavy in his arms, and he wanted nothing more than to make it to the student council room, sit down, and just _not move_. Everyone else had already left immediately after the last bell, intent on going home as quickly as possible. It was just him. There was one open locker close to where his should be, and the closer Lelouch got to hit, it dawned on him that that was _his_ locker. A moan of distress passed his lips, and he hurried to see how much damage had been done.

The front of the locker door had been scribbled all over with a paint pen. The word _SLUT _had been written boldly all along the length of it. Inside, the walls were covered in obscenities like _ELEVEN FUCKER_ and _WHORE_ in black, red, and white. His trigonometry binder had been torn open and all of his notes and homework were nowhere to be found. His book bag was ripped and had _COCKSUCKER_ carved into the once polished and shining leather.

Lelouch let out a frustrated shout and threw the ruined bag on the ground. He slammed the locker shut, pressed his back to it, and slid to the floor. His breathing was heavy and heated, and he could feel the angry tears gather behind his clenched eyelids. They fell down his cheeks, hot and stinging, and into the collar of his uniform jacket. He hated that he was crying over something as stupid and juvenile as this, but he couldn't help it. He was just so exhausted and emotional and _angry_ that he didn't even bother to try to stop.

"Lulu?"

Lelouch's head snapped up. Shirley stood over him, a cardboard box in her arms and a puzzled expression on her face.

"Shirley," he choked, reaching up to wipe the tears from his face.

"Oh my god, are you all right?" She tossed the box to the ground and knelt beside him. Her hand ventured inside her pocket and she pulled out a little packet of tissues. "What's wrong?" she asked, handing him a couple.

"My… my locker…" Lelouch dabbed at his eyes. "I know you've heard about it. They wrote it all over my locker, ripped up all my homework. My bag is completely ruined."

"Oh, Lulu." Shirley pressed her lips together, eyes unbearably sad. "I did hear about it. It's all over the school. I wanted to hear the truth from you though."

"It's true." He clenched to damp tissue in his hands. "I'm pregnant. Suzaku and I are having a baby. I was going to tell everyone myself, but…"

"I'm sorry, Lulu." She took his hand in hers, rubbing soothing little circles in his knuckles. "Are you going to be okay, though? You and Suzaku, I mean. Have you been to see a doctor?"

Lelouch nodded. "I see her every other week."

"Good." Shirley squeezed his hand. "Good." A small smile crept on to her lips, but her eyes were sad. Disappointed, even. She almost looked heartbroken.

"Shirley, I'm sorry." She blinked sadly. "I know how you feel, and I'm sorry that I don't have those feelings for you. You're a great friend, a wonderful friend, and someday you're going to make someone very, very happy."

"I know."

They sat for a moment in a foreboding silence. Shirley, hesitantly, leaned forward and before Lelouch could say anything, she had pulled him into a hug. Her arms wrapped around his shoulders, one hand rubbing a circle into his back. Lelouch was stunned. After a few seconds, he returned her hug and encircled his arms about her waist.

"All that matters to me is that you're happy. I just want you and Suzaku to be happy."

"Thank you." He let out one long, deep breath. "Thank you so much, Shirley."

With a small chuckle, she pulled away and grinned at him. Her eyes trailed down to his abdomen, head tilting to the side. "You haven't started to show yet. How far along are you?"

"Eleven weeks." He blushed. Shirley giggled.

"Are you excited?" she asked.

"Well…" Lelouch sighed. "Yes, but I'm really, _really_ scared."

"That's okay." She took his hand and helped him up, taking the cardboard box up once again. "You'll be fine, Lelouch," she murmured tenderly. "So will Suzaku. You'll both be great parents. I know you will."

All Lelouch could do was smile thankfully. She linked her arm in his, and together they walked to the student council meeting. For the first time, Lelouch felt completely reassured that, yes, he and Suzaku were going to be just fine.

* * *

This chapter was lots of fun! And super long too. Which is good! Really good! That means it deserves a lot of reviews, so, uh, you should totally get on that. I also really like the title of this chapter. Makes me giggle a little bit.

Oh, by the way, I'm looking for a BETA so if you know anybody who BETA's really well or you think you're up for the challenge, hook a bitch up. I'd be very appreciative.


	10. Le Petit Prince ou La Petite Princesse

Hello, everyone! Good lord, you guys really like this story, don't you? I went to take a shower after I posted the last chapter and when I came out my e-mail was like "FIFTEEN MILLION REVIEWS JESUS CHRIST."

This pleases me!

**Summary:** Accidents happen. That's a simple fact of life. Some of those accidents, however, tend to be less than simple. Mpreg, ololol.

* * *

Lelouch welcomed the end of his first trimester with open arms.

At thirteen weeks, he was ready to stop feeling exhausted all the time. He was ready to stop being sick all the time, ready for all the headaches to stop, and ready for his _nipples to stop hurting_.

Lelouch could not believe how tender his chest was. He'd discovered it one day after school, resting on the couch in the sitting room. Suzaku had been in the kitchen, finding something for the two of them to drink, when Arthur had come sauntering in from outside, using the convenient little cat-flap that had been installed in the front door. The cat had jumped on to the back of the couch, beginning to lick at his paws, and Lelouch reached up to pet him absentmindedly. Arthur, taking this as an invitation, slowly stepped down to the arm of the couch and stealthily hopped on to Lelouch's sternum, which was one of his favorite things to do to people who were lying horizontally.

Lelouch had shrieked.

An aching pain flared across his chest, only worsening with the pressure of Arthur's little paws. Arthur, seemingly unfazed by Lelouch's agonized yell, turned in little circles on the human boy's chest, taking his sweet time in getting comfortable on his warm new pillow. He finally lay down on the Lelouch's heaving chest, eyes closed in contentment. There was the sound of clinking glass from the kitchen and Suzaku's worried voice asking what was wrong. Lelouch, still gasping and choking for air, screamed at him to get in there and get his motherfucking cat _off_ of him because he was paralyzed with pain and unable to move. In a flash, Suzaku had removed Arthur from him and placed the little cat in a different chair. Arthur, snippily, bit the skin between his thumb and first finger as compensation for the disturbance of his resting place. His owner flinched and quickly pulled away to nurse his tiny new puncture wounds.

Lelouch moaned and rolled over, burying his face in the couch cushions. His hands came up to cover his aching nipples and his jaw clenched around a few choice words for the household pet. Suzaku hovered over him and asked if he was all right, if there was anything he could do or get him and Lelouch had hissed at him and jerked away, telling Suzaku not to touch him, not now and not ever again. He didn't really mean that though, but that had been the way he felt at the time. One phone call to Dr. Autumns and much coaxing Lelouch to uncurl from the little ball he'd formed with his body later had confirmed their suspicions.

Lelouch's mammary glands were becoming active.

He wasn't growing breasts or anything remotely like that. Dr. Autumns informed them that while all men had mammary glands, they never became functional in typical males. Lelouch wasn't a typical male. Craine babies' mammary glands became active once the body recognized a growing fetus for what it was. Lelouch's body was preparing itself for motherhood. She assured him the tenderness was completely normal and some swelling should be expected.

The entire nipple fiasco was not the only sign of the now peach-sized baby nestled inside Lelouch's body. One morning, he had been putting on his school uniform in front of the mirror in only his uniform slacks. He wouldn't deny that he had been keeping an eye on his tummy as of late, and he also wouldn't deny the tiny pang of disappointment he felt every time he found it still flat and unnoticeable. That morning, however, was the first time he had actually _looked_ in a while, tired of checking everyday to find no change.

"Suzaku, come here!" he called towards his open bedroom door. His eyes were still locked on the mirror when Suzaku showed up, wiping foamy toothpaste from his mouth with his arm. Lelouch beckoned him over with a wave of his arm. He motioned towards his reflection. "Look."

Suzaku looked. He caught the gist of what Lelouch was thinking and his eyes automatically went to the reflection's abdomen. The normally enviously thin plane of ivory skin and slim muscle was not as it used to be. Now, there was a tiny, _tiny_ hint of a protruding belly. Lelouch was still thin, and the little pooch was hardly noticeable, but it sent shivers of excitement and anticipation up their spines. Until that point, Lelouch being pregnant hadn't been something material they could fully wrap their minds around, but now the proof was staring them in the face. That proof was small, but it still made everything more real.

Suzaku grinned and pulled Lelouch into his arms. He let out a giddy laugh and fell to his knees. His hands covered the slight swelling of Lelouch's stomach, as if he were making sure he wasn't imagining it. Once he was convinced it was real, he nuzzled his face into Lelouch's abdomen, giving it fluttering little kisses and murmuring a soft "Hello, little one."

Lelouch had grumbled about the trials of pregnancy he would face, like fatigue, morning sickness, and weight gain. Seeing Suzaku's reaction at the first sign of his belly, however, softened his heart. Instead of his usual short remarks and testy temperament, he cupped Suzaku's face in his hands and let his face be overtaken by a genuine smile and a happy, dreamy look in his eyes. He found it easy to fall into the role of content and expecting mother in moments like these.

* * *

Lunch with Millay and Shirley had been planned for a Saturday. Lelouch knew that this lunch date most likely didn't bode well for him. Millay would probably drag him baby shopping or something, and Suzaku would be too excited about it for him to say no.

"It won't be so bad," Suzaku said with a hint of a chuckle. "They're just excited."

"That's touching," Lelouch scoffed. "I still think it's a little too early to be painting the nursery. Millay told me she wants to help me decorate it. She likes _yellow_."

Suzaku smiled. "Yellow would be cute."

"You're missing the point."

"Maybe we should listen to her advice. Millay does have a niece and a nephew. She might know a thing or two."

"Well, I hope she hasn't managed to rope Shirley into any of her schemes." He shuddered at the thought. Millay and Shirley were unstoppable together.

"Oh, Lelouch, lighten up a little." Suzaku slung an arm around his shoulders. "Get excited. I think you would have fun planning for the baby. We'll have to go shopping to buy clothes, furniture, toys, and you love putting rooms together. Decorating a nursery is going to be great."

Lelouch had to admit; he did have some ideas for the nursery. Ideas that didn't necessarily involve _yellow_.

They arrived at the little café a quarter past noon. Millay hopped from their outside table to greet them. Shirley did her best to hide a small stack of magazines from view while they were preoccupied. She smiled and waved at Lelouch when he saw her.

"How are you feeling Lulu?" Millay asked once they were seated.

"I'm feeling much better these days." He picked up a menu and opened it. "The morning sickness is more or less over with. Finally."

"Now that your first trimester is over, you should start feeling normal again," she told him. "Mindy said it was like night and day. Suddenly she had more energy, she didn't feel sick anymore, and she ate all the time. It was a little scary."

"Yeah, Lelouch eats all the time now," Suzaku teased. He narrowly dodged a kick from under the table, laughing good-naturedly at the glare sent his way.

"What I eat still doesn't compare the amount of food you shove down _your_ face," he snapped defensively. Suzaku merely shrugged and smiled to himself. He leaned over to look at Lelouch's menu.

"You two are so sweet," Shirley giggled, a hand rising to cover her mouth. "I think you might be giving me cavities."

"Thanks, Shirley." Suzaku grinned at the blush covering Lelouch's face, which was turned in the opposite direction.

"Well, speaking of sweet." Millay ducked under the table, sitting back up with the dreaded stack of magazines in her hands. "I saw these the other day and thought you could use them. You should probably get started on your nursery. It's never too early! And the ones in this one are so cute." She flipped one open to show Lelouch.

"Let's not get carried away," Lelouch said. "There's still a lot of time left. And we can't even tell if it's a boy or a girl yet." Despite his words, Lelouch began to look through the one Millay slid across the table. "I don't even know what I want for a nursery either."

"That's why you should start looking; to get some ideas. You could always do a neutral color, like green or white. Or yellow!"

"I like yellow." Suzaku took a magazine for himself.

"See, Suzaku likes yellow."

"… We'll see."

"Lulu," Shirley chimed, playing with the straw in her Pellegrino. "Do you have any ideas for names?"

The question took Lelouch aback. "Names?"

"Baby names." Shirley cocked her head. "You haven't found any you like?"

"I haven't really been thinking about it." He looked to Suzaku. "I guess it slipped my mind."

"Mine too."

"Mindy still has all her old baby name books. I'll bring them next week." Millay sighed happily. She settled her elbows on the table, interlocking her fingers and placing her chin on the small bridge her hands made. "Oh, this is going to be so much fun. Aunt Millay has big plans for the next few months." She winked.

Lelouch swallowed a lump that had suddenly formed in this throat.

* * *

"What do you think of a Japanese name?"

"Hm." Suzaku stretched in front of the bedside. "Depends on the name, I suppose."

Lelouch looked up at him from his side of the bed, pen in his hand and notebook flat against his bent knees. He wore his reading glasses, which he only ever wore for reading in bed, and a puzzled look. "You don't sound to keen on the idea."

"It's just…" Suzaku shrugged. "I'd much prefer the baby to have a Britannian name."

"But you're Japanese."

"I _know_, Lelouch. Which is why the baby should have a Britannian name." He slid between the sheets, sidling in next to Lelouch.

"You don't think the baby should have any pride in its heritage? Your heritage?" Suzaku could feel him bristle. "Being Japanese is nothing to be ashamed of, Suzaku."

"Yes it is, Lelouch. In the world we live in, it's something to be ashamed of and it would be cruel to give my child a Japanese name and ruin every chance it has at succeeding in a Britannian world." He sighed at the narrowing of Lelouch's amethyst eyes. "You and I both know that I would do anything to change that. That's why I'm in the army. But now there isn't anything we can do. Let's not fight about it tonight."

"Fine," Lelouch huffed. "Fine. Any Britannian names you're fond of?"

Suzaku moved to lie on his side, head settled on Lelouch's shoulder and a hand on his abdomen. "Hm." He closed his eyes for a second. "Boy or girl?"

"Girl. I guess we could start there."

"Give me a second to think." He snuggled his nose into the sleeve of Lelouch's silk pajamas. "What about you?"

"What about Alice? Or Jane?"

"Those are… kind of plain." Suzaku's hand found its way underneath Lelouch's pajama top so that he could touch the small lump that was the baby they were in the process of naming. "How about something a little French? Lelouch and Nunnally are kind of French."

"Yeah." Lelouch doodled in his notebook. "What about Adele?"

"That one's okay." Suzaku's eyes lit up in realization. "You know," he said, "our baby would technically be considered a prince, or a princess."

"No." Lelouch shook his head in resolution. "I don't even want to think about that. I don't want to think about what would happen if Schneizel or my father found out I was alive, or if they found out about the baby." He shuddered. "Besides. I gave up my right to the throne. I'm not a prince anymore."

"Still." The hand on Lelouch's abdomen began to rub small circles into the skin there, enjoying the warmth and solidity of it. "We should name it something befitting of a little prince or princess."

"Well, in that case we're going to need grander names. I'll have to get a book or find a website."

"I'll look for some…" Suzaku's words trailed off into a yawn that forced him to close his eyes in fatigue. "Sorry," he said softly, snuggling even closer against Lelouch. "I didn't get very much sleep in the barracks. So used to sleeping here with you."

"I hate that you have to stay in those horrible barracks. Can't you move out?"

"Well, I don't have to pay rent in the barracks. And it's just a place to keep my stuff when I'm not here with you and Nunnally."

"Then move in with us already."

"…Move in with you?" Suzaku tossed the idea around in his head. It was the simplest solution, and it made the most sense. He wondered why he hadn't thought of it before.

"Yes. What did you think was going to happen when the baby was born? That we would move into the family barracks with you?"

"Well." Suzaku chewed on his bottom lip in thought. "I had just assumed…"

"Give notice to your commanding officer or whatever, get all of your things, and we'll help you settle in."

"Where would I put all my things? Your closet's already full to bursting with the clothes I keep here for the weekend."

"We'll move into the master bedroom." Lelouch and Nunnally lived in two smaller guest rooms while the master bedroom sat at the end of the hall, unoccupied. It had a queen sized bed and its own bathroom. Lelouch had been using it to store old furniture and Nunnally's physical therapy equipment. "We'll move everything in the master bedroom to this room and turn the guest room next to it into a nursery. The closet is bigger, and there's enough space to keep a bassinet in there if we ever needed to."

"Would Nunnally mind?" he asked bashfully. Lelouch gave him a look.

"Suzaku. She adores you, and I'm carrying your baby. She'll be overjoyed."

"Okay then." He nodded. "All right. I'll tell my boss. And then I'll get all my things together." Lelouch reached over him to turn off the lamp and set his notebook on the bedside table. The second the light went out, he flipped himself over so that he was on top of Suzaku, eyes smoldering over his body. Suzaku swallowed thickly. "L-lelouch?" he stammered.

"I've been wanting to do this all afternoon." Lelouch's hands slipped underneath his tee shirt, pulling it up over his abs.

"I thought you didn't feel like—"

"That was last night, Suzaku." He sat back on Suzaku's hips and began unbuttoning his pajama top. He gazed at Suzaku with that look that got them into the whole pregnant mess in the first place. His bangs were stylishly messy and his eyes half-lidded. Suzaku noticed he'd left his glasses on. Noticing the slightly shocked way Suzaku was staring at him, he began to slow down in unbuttoning his shirt. "Unless…" he murmured. "You don't want to."

Suzaku grabbed him by the hips, running his hands over his sides. The way Lelouch's skin felt made him remember how much he'd wanted this. It had been weeks since he'd been able to touch Lelouch without the risk of being maimed, and that had done nothing for Suzaku's teenaged libido. He wasn't about to let a chance like this slip away.

"I do," he murmured, sitting up so that Lelouch was straddling his lap. Suzaku began to kiss at his collarbone, laving it open-mouthed kisses. "I do want to." He heard Lelouch gasp above him and felt hands twist in his hair.

"Suzaku…"

Growing bolder, he pushed the now completely unbuttoned pajama top over Lelouch's pale arms, baring his chest completely. His light skin was flushed a soft blush color, and Suzaku's attention was automatically brought to two red and slightly swollen nipples. Lips still somewhere around Lelouch's collarbones, he brought his hand up and gently, ever so slightly skimmed over his left nipple. Lelouch gasped and his abdominal muscles contracted.

"Suzaku!" he hissed, eyes shut tight and jaw clenched. Suzaku, encouraged but the new sensitivity and the ideas it created, slid his lips down Lelouch's pectorals and latched on to a tender nipple. He used as little pressure as possible, intent on not inflicting any pain. Lelouch's control over his voice box diminished with each fleeting swipe of Suzaku's tongue. "Ah… That's… not fair!" he breathed huskily. When Suzaku's head left his abused chest, he slumped forward slightly, a little dazed.

"Something tells me," Suzaku tilted his head to give him one fluttering kiss on the lips, "That this trimester is going to a lot of fun."

* * *

Well, hi guys!

I have stories to tell you. Before my school year started, I got a brand new computer. Yay! Exciting, right? Well, after I played around with it and got all my files transferred and everything, the hard drive just decides to disappear one day. What. The. Fuck. It took almost two months to get it fixed. The original file for this chapter and one for All the Things You Are had been on that old hard drive and I assumed it gone forever. After it was fixed, I lost my mojo for a few months, what with the trigonometry I've been forced to do and my stupid AP English. But then one day I found this file again and I was so happy I started on it right away!

So that's my excuse! Thanks for sticking by me while I was slacking off! You can tell me how pissed you are in a review if you want, go ahead.


End file.
